Welcome to the House of Night
by Violet2389
Summary: Jessica Armstrong is just a regular girl, but when she gets Marked one day at school, she knows her life will change forever.
1. Chapter 1: Embarrassment

**Welcome to the House of Night**

Chapter 1: Embarrassment

My last day of school-and my human life-was quite an eventful one. All day, I had felt absolutely _terrible_. Like, cough your lungs out and your head bursting open terrible. My friend Leslie was talking animatedly to me about some party she was throwing tomorrow night, but I can honestly say that I barely heard any of what she said. We were walking to my locker so I could gather my things for my afternoon classes and I felt as though I was going to pass out. I wanted to just skip the rest of the day of school and go home and sleep.

"Are you feeling okay?" Leslie asked, turning her bright blue eyes on me. I loved Leslie with all my heart, but sometimes she could be downright clueless about things. Her flaming orange hair and freckled skin had been the cause of _numerous _ginger jokes about her, but she rarely took it to heart.

I shook my head. "I feel awful."

"Go home," she said.

"No," I said. "I can't miss math. We have a unit test tomorrow. You _know _how Miss gets when we miss classes right before tests. And I promised Jason I'd help him study tonight." Jason, my boyfriend, needed help with English-my strongest subject. To be completely honest, I didn't think we'd be doing much studying, but I still wanted to spend some time with him. It felt like we hadn't hung out in _ages_.

The math hall was completely crowded, and I felt slightly claustrophobic. I didn't like being in huge crowds like this. But then, someone caught my eye. I had never seen him before in my entire life, and I had been going to this school for the past three years. Surely I would have seen him somewhere, right? This school wasn't huge.

Something about him put me off. I couldn't exactly place what it was, but I didn't like it. Then I saw it. His Mark…and the spiraling sapphire tattoos that lined his face. My stomach did a couple somersaults. This year at our school not one, but two students had been Marked. I couldn't remember the first kid's name, but the second was Zoey Redbird…or Montgomery. Whatever. She went by both names as far as I could remember. Zoey had only been Marked a couple weeks ago.

She and I had been friends. We weren't super close-like Leslie and me-but we spoke to one another in numerous classes we had shared, and then one day, she just disappeared. Her old friend, Kayla, and her sort-of boyfriend Heath had told pretty much the entire school that she had been Marked and was living in the House of Night. The House of Night used to be a private school but the vampyres bought it and renovated it to suit their needs. I had driven past it a few times when going downtown, and I had to admit from what I say, it looked pretty damn nice.

As I got closer to the Tracker I realized something terrible. It dawned on me all at once and I felt like my entire world was about to be turned upside down. He was standing right beside _my _locker. I wanted to turn and run the other way and scream my lungs out. Why was a Tracker standing at my locker? Why? I gulped.

"Leslie…" I began, but trailed off, feeling my throat go dry and stopping dead in my tracks. I could barely speak. The Tracker hadn't seen me. Yet. I felt that if I moved any closer to him, he would notice me for sure and Mark me right then and there.

"What?" she asked, turning to look at me. She followed my gaze and realized what was freaking me out. "You don't think…"

"I…I don't know," I whispered. Wasn't one of the symptoms feeling absolutely terrible and like you're about to fall apart? I had felt like this for a few days now. "I…I have to get away from him."

"You don't even know if he's here for you," she said, trying to calm me down, but deep down I could hear the fear in her own voice. "And even if he doesn't see you now, he will eventually."

"But if he sees me later, it won't be in the middle of this huge crowd!" I hissed. "Go to math…tell Miss I'm…I'm in the bathroom-no scratch that, tell her I'm signing out."

I turned to leave, but she grasped my arm. "If he…you know…don't leave without saying goodbye." Her big brown eyes pleaded with me…and I also saw fear in them…and I oddly felt close to tears.

"Of course!" I said, trying to sound as happy as I could, and then rushed the other way-straight for the bathroom. But before I could get there, I walked right into someone-a very tall someone. My stomach lurched. The Tracker had been tall. I nervously looked up to see that it was just Jason.

"You're going the wrong way," he noted, and then I guess he realized the look on my face. "Are you okay?"

I gulped, how could I tell him the truth? He'd see me as what I was sure to become. A monster.

"I'm…I'm going to go home," I said. "I'm not feeling-" I didn't get to finish my sentence.

"Jessica Armstrong! Night has chosen thee; thy death will by thy birth. Night calls to thee; hearken to Her sweet voice. Your destiny awaits you at the House of Night!"

I turned to see that the Tracker was about five feet away from me. He lifted a long white finger and my head just about exploded in pain. I felt myself fall into Jason's arms right before I passed out.

I felt myself come back into reality, but I _really _didn't want to open my eyes. The hallway was absolutely silent, and I could feel that I was still wrapped securely in Jason's arms. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? I wasn't entirely sure. I knew that sooner or later I would have to open my eyes and face him, but I really didn't want to.

"Jess, you awake?"

I sighed. He knew me too well. He could tell when I was pretending to sleep. I guess my body had changed ever-so-slightly, so I opened one eye to peek at him. He looked _so _relieved to see that I was awake, and he didn't even look at my forehead, which I was sure had the outline of a blue crescent on it. He hugged me tight against him, which relieved me. He didn't think I was a monster. Or at least, he didn't understand that that was what was happening to me.

I could feel his heart beating against his chest. The slow, rhythmic beating soothed me, and calmed me. I hadn't realized my head was slowly moving closer and closer to his chest until he cleared his throat.

"Jess? What are you doing?" he asked.

"Your…your heartbeat," I began, ignoring the odd look he gave me. "It…it's calming me down."

He held me even tighter against him. "It won't change anything between us. I won't let that happen to us."

"Jason...I…I'm a freak," I whispered. "I'm not human anymore…I have to move out and switch schools…oh my god what will my dad do?" I wasn't as worried about my dad…it was his new wife that I was worried about. She was the biggest bitch on the face of the planet and held herself above everyone else just because she was super rich. She acted as though she could treat me however she wanted just because she had provided me with a big house and food. I honestly had no idea what my dad saw in her. I could understand him needing the money, but now he had a really good job, if he had only been in it for the money he would have left her by now.

And really, to put up with her personality wasn't worth the big fancy house.

"I'll drive you home, you don't look too good," Jason said. Before I could protest, I burst into a fit of coughs, and Jason would let me say no to him driving me home.

The drive to my place was quiet. Neither of us seemed to quite know what to say. Numerous times I had glanced quickly at Jason-trying to memorize his features. He was _so _handsome; with his dark brown-almost black-hair and stunning green eyes. I would miss him so much when I went to live in the House of Night, but I knew that that was what had to be done.

I looked down at my school bag which was on the floor of the car. I couldn't wrap my head around all of the things that had happened today, and Ion top of trying to come to terms with what had happened, I _still _felt terrible.

I thought about my future. Option one: I complete the Change into a full vampyre. Option two: my body rejects the Change and I die.

Those were my only two options for this life. To either become nothing at all, or a bloodsucking creature of the night.

"What I said before, I meant it," Jason said quietly as he turned onto my street. "What's happening to you, what's going to happen to you, it doesn't change anything."

Why couldn't I believe that? Turning into a vampyre changed _everything_. Before this, I had just wanted to get through high school and then go off and do hairstyling. That was it. That was all I had wanted. Now, I knew I couldn't have that. I had wanted to spend my life with Jason. We were _that_ couple. The one who everyone knew deep down would get married in the future. Now, I knew that that would never happen for me. I was about to lose everything I held so close to my heart.

"I can tell you don't believe me," he said. "Come on Jess, we've known each other since we were kids. Do you really think that something like this would stop me from loving you?"

My breath caught in my throat. It made my heart squeeze to know that he didn't think of me as a monster. I wasn't a monster to him…at least not yet.

He pulled into my driveway and his turned his eyes on me…not on my mark.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I don't think Laurie's home yet…Dad might see eye to eye with me on this. If not, I'm going to see Mom."

"You're welcome to stay at my place tonight, if you need somewhere to go," he said softly.

"Thanks Jason," I said. "I better go inside." He kissed me and we both exited my car. He walked down the driveway, I adjusted my bangs to make sure they were covering my Mark and went into the house. My stomach was knotted with nerves. When my parents divorced, my dad got custody over me, but I could still go see my mom whenever I pleased. If Dad didn't understand, I'd go to her before anyone else.

As quietly as I could, I opened the front door. I saw that his shoes were in the front foyer, but Laurie's weren't. I breathed a sigh of relief and went into his office.

"Dad?" I called. He was sitting at his desk, writing on a piece of paper.

He looked up in surprise. "Jess? What are you doing here? Are you okay? You don't look too good."

Why did he only seem to have concern for me when Laurie wasn't around? Had Laurie been here, he would have gotten angry with me. I had always been closer to my mom than my dad, but my dad and I were also close…until he remarried. When Laurie _wasn't_ around, he was the old dad who I knew; when she was around he became cold and strict.

"Dad…I need help," I whispered.

He looked worriedly at me. His green eyes that matched my own penetrated me. I found it hard to talk.

"What is it?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and brushed my bangs away with my hand to show him. I had assumed he would look at me with pure disgust, but when I opened one eye to look at him, he was calmly watching me.

"Aren't you going to cringe?" I asked.

"You're still my little girl, this doesn't change that."

"Then why does that seem to change when Laurie is around?" I demanded.

That stung. I could see it clear on his face.

"You are always my daughter," he said through gritted teeth.

"Then act like it," I snapped. Then realized just how angry I had been getting. I took a deep breath to center myself.

"What are we going to do?" he asked calmly. It relieved me that he used "we" instead of "you" and that he was calm and not angry with me.

"You know that I have to leave," I said. "I have to go live-"

At that moment Laurie strutted into his office. Her blonde hair was tightly tied into a high ponytail and she was wearing a navy dress suit.

"What are you doing home, Jessica?" she asked, venom in her Oklahoma twang.

Immediately I made my bangs cover my Mark again so she wouldn't see it.

"I…I didn't feel well," I said I was watching my dad carefully. His composure never changed, but something in his eyes certainly did. He and I both knew better than to bring up my Mark around her.

"What's this I hear about leaving?" she asked, looking between my dad and I.

Well shit.


	2. Chapter 2: Overwhelming

**Chapter 2: Overwhelming **

An awkward silence fell over the room. I stared at my dad, waiting for him to say something. I was _not_ going to be the first one to speak.

"Show her," Dad said.

My eyes widened. I figured he and I would just lie to her, or we'd figure out a way to tell Laurie that I was moving out or something. But actually showing her my Mark? Really?

He looked at me expectantly, and I turned my gaze on her. I lifted my bangs up to show it to her.

And she recoiled. The step-bitch recoiled from me. She whirled around to face my dad.

"What are we going to do about this?" she asked, I could hear disgust lacing her tone. "Oh my god, what will the neighbours think? Did any of them see her coming into the house with….with _that_?"

"Why are you talking about me as if I'm not here?" I demanded, standing up. "And why is your precious reputation more important than my health? Do you not know what this means? Or are you glad that I have to leave, because that means you get him all to yourself?"

"Jessica, that's enough," Dad said.

I turned to him. "Really Dad? Because not ten minutes ago you were actually going to _help_ me. I guess that isn't happening, is it?"

I turned to leave his office.

"Jessica, we aren't finished," he said.

I whirled around again, and opened my mouth to speak, but I started coughing again before I could speak. After the fit of coughing was finished, I cleared my throat and tried again.

"Do you hear what's happening to me?" I asked. "If I don't go there, soon, I'll die. So you can either take me there, and support me, or I'll go alone."

Neither of them made a move to come with me, so I left his office. I went to my bedroom and began throwing my things in my big gym bag, which really wasn't a gym bag, but had that shape, and considered what to take with me. What did vampyres do? What did they wear? I threw some of my favourite shirts and shoes into my bag, and then threw in all my necessities.

Then, I called my mom.

"Are you home?" I asked into the phone.

"Yes, honey, I'm here. You don't sound too good, are you okay?" I wanted to cry because I knew she'd support me. Mom was a strong supporter of gay rights, and had always been super open minded, so I was sure she'd support me with this. She'd support me a hell of a lot better than Dad and Laurie had.

"Can I come see you?" I asked, hoping she could hear me. My throat was killing me, and I was trying to hold back the tears.

"Of course, but shouldn't you be in class?" she asked.

"I'll explain everything when I get there," I promised. "I'll be there soon."

"Okay, bye Jess," she said.

"Bye Mom."

I ended the call, and found my sunglasses. I hefted my bag over my shoulder, put my sunglasses on, covered my Mark with my bangs, did a once-over of my room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything that I would want, and left my bedroom.

Of course, standing in the front foyer was my dad and Laurie.

"Where are you going?" Dad asked.

"To see Mom, and then probably to see Leslie, and then to the House of Night."

"Who told you that you could leave?" Laurie demanded.

"If I don't leave, I'll die. Would you like that? Then you'd have to bury me, and I'd still have my Mark, and all the neighbours would know," I snarled. "Would you like that?"

"Do not talk to your-" he paused.

"My what?" I challenged, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't say anything, so I called a goodbye to them, and left the house, slamming the front door behind me. Even with my sunglasses on, the sun still hurt my eyes. I loaded my bag into the backseat of my car, and drove out of the driveway and to my mom's apartment. I honestly couldn't wait to talk to her. I knew that Jason had been accepting, and Leslie hadn't seemed to be too bothered by it-even though she hadn't known at that point if I actually was going to get Marked or not-but after that scene with my dad and Laurie, I needed some comforting. And Leslie wouldn't be out of school yet.

I parked in the parking lot of Mom's apartment building and went inside. I had a key, so I just went straight inside and up to her apartment. Suddenly, nervousness washed over me. What if Mom wouldn't be supportive of me? What if she saw me as a freak?

_Well, no turning back now_.

I walked down the hall to her apartment, and again, I got nervous. I unlocked the door and went inside.

"Jess? Is that you?" she called from the kitchen.

I went into the kitchen to see her standing by the stove. She looked me over and her expression turned from happy to see me, to worry right away.

"What's wrong? You look pale."

I couldn't speak; I just lifted my bangs to show her my Mark.

"Oh, honey," she came over to me and hugged me. "I'm guessing your dad wasn't too happy?"

"He was fine-before Laurie walked in," I said.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry."

I waved off her apology. "Don't be."

"So, you're going to go to the House of Night," she said. It wasn't a question.

I nodded. "I wanted to come see you first though, so you knew. I'm sure Dad's gonna call you any minute."

"Oh, he already did, but I figured it was about whatever you were coming here for, so I ignored his call."

She laughed and I laughed with her. I knew I'd be fine with her.

"How are your friends dealing with it?" she asked.

"Jason's the only person who knows, and he seemed okay with it…he was there when it happened."

"Well, you're lucky you had someone there for you. I'm guessing it wasn't exactly a pretty sight?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Apparently I blacked out for a couple minutes."

"I'm glad he was there."

"I am too," I said.

"Do you want me to drive you to the House of Night?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Before I go there, I'm going to go see Leslie."

"Are you sure that that's a good idea?" she asked.

I nodded. "When we saw the Tracker standing at my locker, she said that if he was there for me to say bye to her before I left. I couldn't leave without saying goodbye."

"I completely understand that," she said sympathetically. By now we were sitting on the couch together. "Will you be able to keep up your relationship with Jason even when you go there?"

"I hope so," I said honestly. "I've never heard of a vampyre and a human in a relationship."

"I'm sure that you two can make something work," she said. "Especially if he didn't abandon you after what happened."

I wanted to cry. She was right. Maybe we actually _did _have hope.

I smiled, holding back the tears.

"Don't cry, this will end up being a good thing," she said. "Look at how many successful actors are vampyres; you've always been good in drama."

"I guess so," I said, still uncertain. I looked up at her, than admitted, "I'm scared."

"I would be too!" she said. "Which is why I offered to let me take you there, I wouldn't want you to have to go through it with no one there for you."

For a minute I considered letting her take me. I wanted my mom there with me. I needed her. I wanted so desperately to keep her with me forever. But she'd always be my mom, no matter what. And, I figured I'd have to get used to doing things on my own.

"I'll be okay," I said quietly.

"Keep your phone charged," she said. "I want to still be able to call you and text you."

I nodded. "Of course. I better get to school, I'm gonna pick Leslie up."

She nodded and we got off the couch together. She pulled me into her arms.

"You're going to be okay," she whispered in my ear. "You're a strong girl. I have so much faith in you, honey."

"Thanks, Mom," I whispered back, and then pulled away from her. "I'll call you or text you when I can. She kissed me on my cheek and we said goodbye to each other. As I left her apartment, sadness and an odd sense of loneliness fell over me. I suddenly wanted to run back into my mom's apartment and never leave.

In all honesty, I considered doing just that numerous times as I walked to the elevator. If I had thought just walking out of her apartment building was bad, driving to school was even worse. I just wanted to turn around and go back to Mom's apartment. But I didn't.

I parked in my regular parking spot just as the bell rang. I kept my sunglasses on as I watched the students exit the school. I saw Leslie leave the school and she saw me and came straight for my car.

"You got Marked," she said, matter-of-factly.

I had started driving so I didn't look at her, I couldn't really meet her eyes.

"You can tell?" I asked.

"There's a bag packed in the back seat, you're wearing sunglasses on an overcast day, and you're paler than usual. And you're pretty pale in the first place."

"And you don't think I'm a freak?" I still couldn't meet her eyes.

"Of course not!" she said. "I mean, yeah it'll be weird to get used to you not being around, but I'll get used to it eventually. I wouldn't abandon you like that." Oddly, I felt like bursting into tears.

"That really means a lot, Leslie," I said.

She smiled. "I can tell. You're almost in tears. I can hear it in your voice."

"I'm scared." I admitted for the second time today.

"I would be too," she said. "Does Jason know?"

I nodded. It made me want to laugh that that was what seemed to be one of everyone's first questions. "He was there while it happened."

"Is he okay with it?" she asked.

"He is…he wants to maintain a relationship with me even through this…but I don't see how it'll work."

"I'm sure you guys will be able to," she said, optimism clear in her voice. "You guys have made it through lots more than this. Remember when Alison Carter was going after him? You guys made it through that no problem."

"I guess you're right, but this…this is different. This isn't just some girl trying to go after him-"

"Some girl?" Leslie repeated. "Alison Carter is like the Regina George of this school. She could have any guy she wanted but she couldn't get Jason."

"But Leslie, this is me leaving and turning into something that isn't human…it isn't the same," I said.

"Jess, do you really think he'd just abandon you? We both know him better than that. He won't," she said.

I was quiet as I drove through the streets of Oklahoma to take Leslie home. Yeah Jason and I had gone through a lot while together, but nothing this serious. Could we really pull through?

Anyway, I had quite a lot more to worry about than whether or not we would last through this, so I pushed all thoughts of him out of my mind. I couldn't think about that now, not when I had to worry about going to the House of Night…tonight.

That was a prospect that scared me to no end. I had to go there. Tonight.

All too soon I was driving down Leslie's street and into her driveway. I took a deep breath before turning to face her. She watched me worriedly.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. "If I could come with you tonight, I would. But I don't think that's allowed."

"I don't think it is either," I said. I shook my head, trying to clear it. "I'll be fine, don't worry." I tried for a smile, but I knew it was a weak attempt. She hugged me before we said goodbye and I pulled out of her driveway. As I drove through the streets of Broken Arrow, I thought about what was going to happen to me. I had to completely leave this life behind. Deep down, I wasn't that upset about it. The way my dad and Laurie had reacted…

I pushed thoughts of both of them straight out of my head. I didn't want to think about the way they had treated me today. Weren't they-well at least my dad-supposed to support me through anything? Wasn't that how it worked?

Briefly I considered going to see Jason. I didn't have much else to do today, right? What time was I supposed to go to the House of Night? Was there a specific time that everyone would be awake for?

I made my way to Tulsa, and pulled into the parking lot of a mall. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I had come to terms with the fact that I was leaving everything behind…now I was just nervous as to what to expect when I got there.

I began coughing again, and briefly wondered if this was what it would be like if my body rejected the change. Would I just keep coughing until my lungs couldn't take it anymore? Was that how it happened?

I had no idea.

When my coughing subsided, I glanced at the clock. It was already six thirty? I put my car into drive, not being able to take the nervousness anymore. Or the coughing, for that matter. I figured once I got to the House of Night, I would feel better. Hell, just driving there I was beginning to feel better. It was as if something was stirring inside of me, as if my body knew where I was going. It was as if it was excited to go.

I pulled into the parking lot of the House of Night, where there was surprisingly a spot waiting for me. It seemed to have been expecting me. A sign near my car told me this part of the lot was for students _**only**_. They made sure to make that clear for anyone who may decide to come for a visit.

I leaned back in the seat of my car, eyes closed, trying to keep my breathing normal. After I had sat in there for a while, just getting a hold on my emotions and breathing, I got out of my car, and grabbed my bag from the backseat. I slung the straps of my bag over my shoulder and looked up at the sky. By this time it was seven o'clock and it was beginning to get dark. I took a deep breath, and went to the entrance to the House of Night.

Before I could knock on the huge door, a woman opened the door. She was absolutely _gorgeous_. She was very tall, with super long, auburn hair and almond shaped eyes which were mossy green. The tattoo that lined her face looked like frothy ocean waves.

"Hello," she said, smiling as she greeted me.

"Hi," I said. "I'm-"

"Jessica Armstrong," she finished for me. "We've been expecting you."

"You…you have?" I asked brilliantly.

She smiled. "Yes, we know whenever a fledging is going to arrive. Come, let me show you around. My name is Neferet; I am the High Priestess at this House of Night."

"Pleasure to meet you," I said, really unsure of what else I could say.

She led me through the corridors of the school, and allowed me to gawk at my surroundings. It was beautiful and huge in here. The school had a very antique, rustic feel to it.

"I'm going to take you to my office where your mentor is awaiting you," she said. "We know that you've always done well in drama," she paused to let that sink in, "so we decided that your mentor would be the drama teacher here, Professor Nolan."

We got to Neferet's office and she opened the door to let me in. inside was a large desk with three chairs around it. Two were on one side, one on the other. Sitting in one of the two chairs on the one side was a beautiful woman with long, straight brown hair. Her tattoo resembled a mask. Together, they explained the ground rules of the school. There were uniforms, but you could change them to make yours look unique. They explained that I could change my name if I want, but I decided to keep it. I had never really had a problem with my name.

As we sat together, a question entered my mind. I waited for them to ask if I had any questions before asking mine.

"Yeah, I do have a question, actually," I said. I hesitated. "Well actually two."

"Go ahead." Professor Nolan said, smiling warmly at me.

"How will all of _this_," I motioned around me and to myself. "Affect my human life? I mean, apart from the obvious. Will I still be able to interact with humans or…?"

"On the days that you don't have class, you are permitted to leave school grounds, only at night of course, but it would be beneficial if you went with another fledging. Humans can be dangerous for both fledgings and vampyres," Neferet explained.

"So, yes you can still see your boyfriend," Professor Nolan said, smiling knowingly at me.

"What's your other question?" Neferet asked.

"Is Zoey Montgomery here?" I asked.

For a split second I noticed something change in Neferet's eyes, but it was so quick that I don't think even Professor Nolan noticed it before it was replaced with her kind gaze.

"Yes, Zoey is here, did you know her?" Neferet asked.

I nodded. "She and I went to the same school in Broken Arrow."

Professor Nolan smiled widely at me. "It'll be good to have a familiar face around. She's in my second hour drama class, which I think you're in as well."

I couldn't help but smile. That was a thought that calmed me. The fact that in at least one of my classes I'd have a familiar face.

"Here is your timetable," Neferet said, handing me a sheet of paper. At the top of the paper was my name, and the date…the date was a few days before the Tracker had Marked me…how…? I tried to ignore that and read my classes. Poetry, drama, Vampyre sociology, lit, equestrian studies and Tae Kwon Do. Equestrian studies and Tae Kwon Do? Wow.

"We like to keep our fledgings in the best shape we can," Neferet explained. "The better your physical shape is, the more chance you have at surviving the change."

I nodded, completely understand. Professor Nolan and I left Neferet's office together. We walked through the corridors. She led me around the school, and I really liked her. We got along instantly, and it wasn't the fake teacher-student getting along, I could tell that this was real.

"I know that it's scary to learn all this at once," she said. "It can be very overwhelming. But all of us support you and want the best for you. You're in good hands here."

"That makes me feel loads better," I said.

"Come, I'll take you to the girls' dorm, you can meet your roommate."


	3. Chapter 3: Getting Settled

**Chapter 3: Getting Settled**

"It isn't very often that we pair a fledging from third former with someone in a higher form, but this is an exception, and a punishment in a way," Professor Nolan explained. I turned to look at her, and I'm sure there was fear in my eyes. Punishment? "Don't worry; it won't be as bad as you think. And even if she doesn't like you, she'll probably pretend she does just so that she can at least try to be civil in her own dorm room."

"That's…encouraging," I said.

We were walking down a corridor and she stopped.

"Ahh, I think I hear Erik Night coming. I had wanted to introduce you to him, he's one of my top students," she said. Sure enough, one of the hottest guys I had ever seen in my life turned a corner right in front of us. He was tall with dark hair-and right away something struck me about him.

He looked like Jason.

Apart from his eyes, he looked like Jason. The only difference was his eyes-they were blue.

"Erik, this is one of my new students, Jessica," Prof. Nolan explained. We greeted each other. "Jessica, if I'm ever unavailable, you can ask Erik anything at all. He's one of my top fledgings and I trust him to aid you with whatever you need."

"Okay, I'll remember that," I said-I was still struck by how much he looked like Jason.

"See you later," he said, smiling at both of us and leaving. Prof. Nolan and I kept walking and then arrived at the dorm.

She smiled down at me. "Don't be too worried, Jessica, if she and you _really _don't get along, if you absolutely cannot stand rooming with her, just come to me and I will see what we can do."

"Okay," I said as Prof. Nolan led me into the girls' dorm.

"Girls! We have a new fledging," Prof. Nolan said. I looked around to see a bunch of girls with long hair sitting together eating bowls of cereal or fruit all in uniforms, a couple were in pyjamas, but majority were already in black shirts and pleated skirts. "Please make sure you welcome Jessica Armstrong to your dorm."

They all smiled and waved at me, but one person in particular stood out to me. At the mention of my name, her head had whipped around to stare at me. She was standing with a blonde girl, with noticeably short hair. Well, it wasn't short like a pixie cut or anything, but it stood out since everyone had long hair.

"Jess?" she asked.

"Zoey!" I said, relief flooding into my voice and body. I was glad I had seen her.

She rushed over to me, and immediately I noticed something different on her. Her Mark was coloured in and her face was tattooed with intricate swirls of blue.

She hugged me tightly. "It must be good having a familiar face here."

I nodded. "Yeah, it is. It's super overwhelming."

"Do you know who your roommate is yet?" she asked.

"I'm taking her to meet her right now," Prof. Nolan said. "You and Jessica have drama together, and I think you also have lit together."

Zoey grinned at me. "I'll help you out as much I can."

Prof. Nolan addressed me. "You're excused from your classes today, just so you can get yourself settled in your room. I'll ensure that your roommate, or even Zoey, will come by to pick you up and show you where the dining hall is at lunch."

"Alright," I said. I was glad no one here was looking at me like "the weird new girl". I guess they were just used to having new fledgings come…and go often.

"And since today is Friday, tomorrow and Sunday you don't have any class," she said.

I nodded and followed her down the hallway to the separate rooms. She led me down the hall, and knocked on a door.

A girl with _a lot _of blonde hair and bright blue eyes opened the door, she looked me over once-I couldn't read the expression on her face-and set her gaze on Prof. Nolan. Oh God, she had that Regina George bitch look to her. Great.

"Yes, Professor Nolan?" she asked.

"Aphrodite, this is your new roommate, Jessica Armstrong," Prof. Nolan said.

"Hi," I said.

She smiled at me, and I could see that it actually was a genuine smile; I could tell that it wasn't fake. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Aphrodite, I'm sure that you will make Jessica feel welcome at the House of Night?" Prof. Nolan questioned.

"Of course!" she said.

"Good, she doesn't have to go to class today, but can I trust you to show her where the dining hall is at lunch?"

"Yes, I'll come back here to get her, if something comes up, I'll send someone else."

"Thank you, Aphrodite," Prof. Nolan said. "I'll see you during fourth hour. And Jessica, come see me if there's anything that you need."

"I will," I said, and walked into my new dorm room. I looked around. There were two beds, two closets, a bathroom, and in the corner-was that a mini fridge?

"I know it isn't much," Aphrodite said, sounding sad about that fact. "But after my previous roommate didn't make it through the Change I tried as best I could to redecorate…but the vamps don't really let you do much that would be permanent to the rooms themselves." She hopped onto one of the beds and pointed to the one across from her. "That one's yours."

I hefted my bag onto it and sat on it.

"In your closet is your uniform," I opened my mouth to ask how I knew it'd fit me, when she explained; "the vamps always seem to know what size you're going to be before you arrive. It's weird and almost embarrassing…if of course you have to worry about that type of thing…" she paused and looked me over again. "…which obviously you don't have to worry about that."

Had that been a compliment?

"Anyway, on Monday I'll show you where your first hour class is, then I'm sure you'll have someone you can ask about the rest. We won't be in any classes together, I'm in a higher form than you," she said. "Can I see your timetable?"

I fished it out of my pocket and handed it to her.

"Poetry with Blake?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "He's _gorgeous_…of course you have Nolan…I'd watch out for Neferet-"

"Wait, why?" I asked, not being able to help cutting her off. "She seemed nice when I met her earlier."

Aphrodite looked around as if Neferet was actually here in our room.

"Zoey Redbird-" she said scowling.

"I know who she is."

"_Of course_ you do, she's Nyx's gift to vampyres," she said, scowling again.

"No-I knew her before I came here," I said. "We went to the same school."

Aphrodite sighed and looked me over wearily. "Well, then you'd probably join the nerd herd soon enough anyway, I might as well tell you."

"Nerd herd?" I asked.

"You'll find out soon enough…just _please_ don't become completely like them," she said that last part with a tone of desperation. "Anyway, I have my suspicions about Neferet…that she isn't exactly…oh…what's the word?" she paused, thinking. "She just isn't as good as she seems."

"Really?" I asked crossing my legs underneath myself. "And where does Zoey fit into this?"

"She doesn't see it. I'm sure she can sense something off about Neferet, but she just seems oblivious to what she's doing."

This intrigued me. I remembered how Neferet's eyes had changed when I mentioned Zoey's name.

"What _is _she doing?"

She sighed and looked at the clock. "I need to get to class. I can explain it later."

"Okay…" I said.

"There are snacks and drinks in the fridge if you get hungry before lunch…other than that I guess you're set. You might want to get into your uniform before I get back though."

"Alright," I said. "See you later." Then a thought struck me. "Wait-are there any rules about cell phones?"

"The vamps don't really like us using them, but there aren't any rules against them," she said before waving over her shoulder at me and leaving the room.

While she was gone, I put my clothes away in my closet. I had wanted to distract myself, because I knew that soon enough I would need to make some phone calls, and oddly, I wanted to put that off for as long as I could. All too quickly I had put everything away and stared at my phone. It was only eight thirty at night, everyone should still be awake.

First, I called my mom.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm fine," I said. "Just getting settled in my room."

"Has everyone been nice to you?" she asked.

"Yup," I said. "My roommate seems to like me."

"That's always good!" she said. "Are you still afraid?"

"Not as much now that I know what the school is like."

"I'm glad," I could hear the smile in her voice. "Listen, I'm working the night shift tonight, I have to go, are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine," I said. "Bye Mom."

"Bye Jess," she said. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said, before hanging up. Oddly my throat felt tight like I was about to cry. I took a few gulps of air before dialing another number.

"Hey, how are you doing?" his voice made me want to crumble and weep on the bed.

But then I realized that Aphrodite would be pissed for having to clean up my mess, so I took another deep breath.

"I'm okay," I said.

"You don't sound too good; do you want me to come see you?"

_Yes._ "No, I don't think you're allowed to." _I wish you were though_. "The people here are nice so far. My mentor seems to really like me, so does my roommate."

"I'm glad," he said. "Jess, I can tell you aren't okay. I want to come to see you. Is there any way…?"

"Jason, I just got here, I don't want to already start pissing off the vamps," I said. "I think we're allowed to leave on the weekends, but not for too long. Maybe we can see each other then?"

"I'd really like that," he said. I could hear the relief in his voice.

"I don't know for sure though," I said. "I'll ask my roommate and let you know, okay?"

I could practically see him nodding. "I really hope we can meet up, Jess."

"I do too," I whispered. I already missed him so much. It was probably just because of the new environment, but I couldn't help it.

"Did you hear about Chris Ford and Brad Higeons?" Jason asked.

"No, what about them?"

"Jess, you really haven't heard anything?" he asked.

"I've been kind of busy," I said. "Last I heard Chris was missing."

"They found Chris's body in a river…close to the House of Night." he said. "And Brad's parents are freaking out because he hasn't come home yet."

"Wait-Chris is…Chris is dead?" I asked, dread seeping into me. I had never been really close with him, but I had known him.

"Yeah, Jess," he said. I could hear the sadness in his voice.

"Don't come here," I said immediately. With what Aphrodite had said earlier about Neferet, and what Jason had said about Chris's body being found close to the House of Night…I didn't want to risk anything happening to him.

"What?" he asked.

"Jason, if you come here, you could get hurt. You said Chris was found near here, right? I don't want the same thing to happen to you."

"Jess, come on, I'll be fine," he said.

"Jason, please," I said. "Just give everyone here some time to figure it out. You know humans are going to think this was the fault of vampyres."

He was quiet for a few moments. "_Did _one of you do it?"

I was taken aback. "I…I have no idea."

I decided to keep quiet about what Aphrodite had said to me about Neferet. It didn't really concern Jason anyway and he wouldn't understand it even if I did. And something about the way he had said 'one of you' had got to me. I knew that I wasn't human anymore, I wasn't part of Jason's world anymore, but still…it had just bugged me. We spoke for a while longer, and then I looked at the clock. I was sure Aphrodite would be back here soon to take me to the dining hall for lunch.

"Jason, I have to go, it's almost lunchtime," I said.

"It's midnight."

I sighed. "Classes begin at eight-thirty here. We sleep during the day."

"Oh, well I guess I better let you go," he said.

"We'll talk soon," I promised before we said goodbye and ended the call. After I got into my uniform-which fit perfectly-a sense of loneliness washed over me. I was practically alone in this big new school…how would I fit in? A sudden urge to go see Prof. Nolan washed over me. She-well and Neferet, but I sure as hell wasn't going to go see Neferet-had welcomed me as a mother would. Maybe after-or during?-lunch I would go see her.

Waiting for Aphrodite was absolute torture. I think I only had to wait about twenty minutes, but it still seemed like it took ages. I was leaning against my pillows, flipping through a magazine that Aphrodite had on the bookshelf when she finally came back.

"Are you ready for lunch?" she asked.

"Sure," I said, putting down the magazine and getting off the bed. "Do the vamps eat with us during lunch?"

"No, they have their own dining area," she said. "Normally though, they'll go into their dining hall, get their food and leave. They'll eat in their classrooms or offices in case one of their students needs help. It's only during lunch though, during dinner they all eat together. Students aren't allowed to go there, unless invited by their mentor or Neferet."

"So, after I eat, I could go talk to Prof. Nolan if I wanted?" I asked.

She nodded. "That's how it goes." She paused before speaking again. "I don't eat in the dining hall…if you want you can sit outside with me, or you can sit the with nerd herd inside. Personally, I wouldn't want to be caught dead with them, but I know that you know Zoey. I won't be mad or anything if you want to sit with them…it'd probably help you feel like you fit in more too." I glanced over at her. Her tone had said that she didn't care if I sat with her, but something inside me told me that that she wanted me to sit outside with her. But, I wanted to fit in here too; I didn't want to feel like an outsider…I wasn't sure what to do.

"I'll eat outside with you at lunch, but at dinner I think I'll eat in the dining hall," I said. "After we eat could you show me the way to Prof. Nolan's office?"

"Sure," she said, leading me to the dining hall.

Surprisingly, Aphrodite wasn't that bad. When I first met her, I had thought she would be an absolute nightmare to live with, but as it turned out, she wasn't half as bad as I thought she'd be.

Maybe this new life wouldn't be so bad after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Issue**

"Professor Nolan?" I asked, knocking on her open classroom door and poking my head in her room.

"Come right in, Jessica," she said, smiling warmly at me. I went further into the room. "How's your day been?"

"It's been okay," I said. The room itself was filled with stools and had an open area that was probably what would be used as a stage. Prof. Nolan had a desk in the corner, which she was sitting at, so I sat across from her. "It's kind-of overwhelming."

She nodded in understanding. "I know, it is quite overwhelming, but as you spend a few days here you'll get used to it. Before you ask me whatever it is that's on your mind, I meant to ask you-I suppose you heard about the two human boys? The one whose body was discovered near here, and now the other one who has been missing?" I nodded. "Humans seem to think that we vampyres had something to do with it." she paused to allow that to sink in. "Now, don't think I'm blaming you-or assuming anything-but you said that you knew them. Do you have any idea what could have happened?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea."

"Did you know them?"

"Kind of," I said. "My boyfriend knew them better than I did."

"I hate to ask this, but did you possibly have something do with it?"

I shook my head again. "I haven't seen them in days." I could understand why she was asking, I was a new entry to the House of Night, of course I would be a suspect.

"Just to warn you, a couple police officers may be coming to question you and-for some reason that I don't know-Zoey. I will be with you during your questioning, as will Neferet. I promise that you'll be completely fine." She smiled warmly at me. "Now, on to your questions."

"Well, I was wondering if there are any rules about going off property?" I asked.

She entwined her fingers together and folded them onto her desk.

"Well, on weekends fledgings are allowed to leave property, but there are rules," she began. "As you know, you cannot be away from a vampyre for too long, as you can die from it. If you're away from us for too long, your body will slowly begin to reject the Change and it won't stop. The maximum we allow you to stay off property is six hours. Higher formers are allowed to stay out a bit longer, but not much." She paused before continuing. "When you leave school property you are not allowed to wear any type of school symbol, and you must cover up your mark with the concealer we gave you along with your uniform. Humans would not take kindly to know that we allow our fledgings to leave. Of course, you may visit your friends-but only those who are trustworthy. We don't need this getting out."

She paused to allow that to sink in, before continuing.

"If you do leave the property, please come to me first, it isn't to ask permission, but it's so that I know where you are. This won't be permanent, it's just until the issues of the two human boys has been solved. If anyone assumes that you're a fledging, they may try to take you in for questioning, which of course would not be good-especially not on school property and without me there. Or, they may try to harm you-we all know that the relationships between humans and vampyres is rocky."

I nodded. "That makes sense. I'll probably be going out tonight, that's okay right?"

"Yes, that's fine," she took a deep breath. "Jessica, I didn't want to have this conversation with you…but romantic relationships between a human and a fledging is not allowed. There are very strict rules against it."

She allowed that to sink in. I was silent. I had to break up with Jason? So soon after promising him that we would make it work?

"I realize that this is difficult to take in, but it is much too dangerous for both of you. I think it would be best for you to end it with him as soon as you can. The longer you remain with him, the harder it will be. He'll be drawn to you, regardless. Even though there isn't an Imprint between you two, he will still be drawn to you no matter what."

"An Imprint?" I asked, trying to get my mind off what she had just told me.

"It's a connection that occurs between two vampyres, or a vampyre and a human-and in very rare cases it may occur between a fledging and a human-sometimes even a fledging and a vampyre. It happens when blood has been shared between both parties. It can occur when one party only drinks the other one's blood, but it's stronger when it has been shared," she explained. "It isn't as common with fledgings as you don't have much of a grasp of bloodlust yet. Fledgings don't really see blood as a necessity to live just yet, it doesn't appeal to fledgings. For vampyres who have completed the Change, the lust and need for it is much stronger. I won't tell you everything about it, as you learn more about when you're a sixth former."

I was still trying to come to terms with what she had told me about breaking up with Jason. I had known him forever, and now I would have to break up with him so suddenly? And on my first day here, they had assured me that I could still see him-had that been a lie to make me feel better about leaving my human life?

She placed a hand on my arm. "I know how difficult it is, trust me."

I wanted to burst into tears. "I don't know how I can tell him."

"When I was Marked, I had a boyfriend. Now, this was quite a long time ago-I don't want to tell you exactly how long ago that was, it'll make me feel old-" I scoffed at that. Professor Nolan, old?! She looked like she was in her twenties! "But, back then, it was quite…shall I say, scandalous? To have a boyfriend at my age. I was from a respectable southern family, and I was to be married before I turned twenty. I was your age when I was Marked, and my boyfriend and I had been together secretly for three years. When I got here, and my mentor told me that I had to end all ties with him, I was heartbroken, and I actually ran away from my House of Night. But then, I realized that he was just a human. I shouldn't throw my life away just because of one human boy." She seemed lost in her own world, and it made me smile to see her like that. "Of course, he was angry when I broke it off with him, but in the end it was for the better. It will be the same for you."

"We've known each other since we were kids," I said. "We've known each other since we were four years old…I can't just break off all ties with him so suddenly."

"You don't need to break off _all _ties with him," she said calmly. "You can still keep in touch with him, just as you are still allowed to keep in touch with your family and any other friends, but you cannot be romantically involved with him. It truly is for cautious measures, we cannot allow an Imprint to happen. It may have already happened with another fledging and human, we can't risk another one."

I could see why. I guess it could be dangerous. But I still didn't like it.

"Now, that isn't to say that you have to remain away from him," she began. "When you're a full vampyre you can do whatever you please. There are no rules against a full vampyre and a human having a relationship."

"So I need to wait four years to have a relationship with Jason-that's considering I actually make it through the Change," I said.

She smiled sympathetically. "I know it seems like a long time, but who knows; you could go through the Change tomorrow. It's different for every fledging. Some fledgings make it through the Change within their first year here."

"But some don't," I said softly.

She nodded. "Yes, some don't, but there is a higher amount of fledgings who actually do make it through the Change." She met my eyes. "Don't worry too much about it; don't let it get you worked up. It isn't a good thing for a fledging to fret over something like this."

I sighed. I was still lost in thought thinking about how I would say what I had to say to Jason. How could I break up with him? But, I could get back together with him after I completely the Change, but what if I didn't?

I thanked Professor Nolan and left her classroom.

If I didn't complete the Change, would it be better or worse for Jason?

Or, would it just be better for me to completely end it with him? I wasn't sure. I didn't want to break up with him; I didn't want to lose him. Could I pretend I had broken up with him? Would the vamps find out if I did?

I figured that they probably would. If the vamps knew what size clothing I was before I got here, I was sure they'd easily know that I was still dating my human boyfriend.

I was so lost in my thoughts about breaking up with Jason that I walked right into someone.

"Sorry," I mumbled, not realizing who he was as I didn't even look up.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

I looked up, oh it was Erik. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Something's bothering you," he noted. "Don't worry; you can ask me, I know sometimes the vamps can be intimidating."

I took a deep breath. "What would happen to my boyfriend if I stayed in a relationship with him?"

"Well, I don't think anything would happen to him, but you'd get in serious trouble," he said. "It'd be on your hands, not his, since you know the rules and he doesn't. They wouldn't do anything to him."

"What would happen to me?" I asked quietly, almost afraid of the answer.

He shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. It rarely happens-or at least it happens, but the vamps haven't caught on."

"So it's possible to hide things from them?" I asked.

He nodded. "It's super hard to hide things from Neferet, she has crazy intuition powers, and it's difficult to lie to you mentor."

I nodded and bit my lip.

"Trust me; it'd be better to just end it with him-at least until you complete the Change," he suggested.

"I just have lots to think about," I said. "Thank you, Erik."

"Anytime," he grinned and we went our separate ways.

Okay, so it _was _possible to hide things from the vamps. It wasn't completely impossible, but it was idiotic. I was stupid to think that I could hide my relationship with him. I rushed back to my room and changed my clothes, and I smeared some concealer over my mark. I sent a quick text to Jason, asking if he could meet me, and his reply came almost immediately saying that he could come meet me. We were going to meet at the Starbucks at Utica Square.

As I was leaving the property, I bumped into yet another person-a person who I hadn't met yet-a man-sorry, vampyre, who was literally the hottest person I had ever seen in my entire life.

"I'm sorry," I said, feeling flushed and thanking Nyx that I had remembered to do my makeup nicely today.

"No, no, I should have been watching where I was going," he said. "I'm guessing you're Jessica?"

"How did you…?"

"I'm your poetry teacher," he said. "My name is Loren Blake. Neferet informed me that you wouldn't be in class today, and I assumed that you're the only one who is excused from class today and able to leave school grounds."

"Oh," I said brilliantly. "Um, pleasure to meet you."

He smiled and it made my heart skip a beat. "Let me know if you need anything, I'm normally in my classroom or my room-I have a floor to myself in the teacher's housing-so if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask." As he walked past me, he placed his hand lightly on my shoulder and met my eyes. "If you need _anything at all_, just let me know."

I nodded at him as he walked away, and then began to hurry to my car again.

Whoa, what had that been about? The way he had emphasized the "anything at all" made me think that he had more than just schoolwork on his mind. The thought both intrigued me and scared me. I mean, he was absolutely _gorgeous_, and he was interested in _me_?

I got into my car and drove to Utica Square. I pushed all thoughts of Loren out of my mind and focused on the task at hand. I needed to break up with Jason.

I wasn't sure if I was ready for it, but I oddly felt calm. I blew all the air out of my lungs and leaned back in my seat when I was stopped a red light.

I didn't want to, but I knew that it needed to be done. I thought about how I would go about telling him. As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw him sitting at a table with two Starbucks cups in front of him. I took a deep breath. _You can do this, you can do this, you can do this. You have to._

I got out of my car and made my way over to Jason. His eyes lit up as soon as he saw me. As I got to the table, he stood up and kissed me on the cheek before we both sat down.

"How have you been?" he asked. "Are you okay there?"

I nodded. "Everyone's been very nice to me, and I'm fine."

He smiled. "I worried that you'd have a hard time settling in."

"No," I said with a smile. "I'm doing just fine."

"I got you a pumpkin spice latte," he said. "I know it's your favourite."

"Thanks," I whispered, taking a sip of it.

We were both quiet, and I thought about what to say next to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, green eyes studying me.

"Yeah," I said. "Well, no, I'm not."

He covered my hands with his. "Talk to me."

"Jason…I…I…" I took a deep breath before continuing. "Jason, I need to tell you something…and neither of us is going to like it."

He leaned back in his chair, expression becoming slightly guarded. "You found someone else."

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"I knew that it was going to happen," he said. "Vamps are hot, I get it, you found someone better than me."

"Wait, wait, wait-Jason, I didn't find someone else," I said.

"Then why do you look so scared?"

"I'm not scared, I'm sad," I said quietly. "Jason, I have to break up with you." I paused to gauge his reaction. His face didn't necessarily change, but I knew him well enough to see the pain clear in his eyes.

"Why?"

"It's against the rules," I whispered, feeling like I was close to tears. The calm I had felt earlier in the car had vanished, and it had been replaced with dread and sadness.

He exhaled deeply. "Against the rules?"

I nodded. "The vamps don't want to risk an Imprint between fledgings and humans." Normally I would be more cautious about talking about what I was in public, obviously, but there was literally nobody around, so I was safe.

"An Imprint?" he asked.

"It's when a vampyre feeds off a human, or another vampyre, or when blood is shared between both people. It's a connection that forms between the two, and it can apparently be dangerous if it happens between a fledging and a human, since there's a chance I won't make it through the Change, it'd be super bad for you."

He squeezed my hand. "I don't want to lose you, Jess. Since when have we ever listened to what a teacher told us to do regarding our relationship? Remember in third grade when Mr. Moore didn't want me to sit beside you, but I did anyway because I knew that you wanted me there?"

I smiled at the memory. "Yes, of course I remember, but this is different. This could actually be dangerous for both of us."

"So then what are we going to do?" he asked. "Just throw away our entire relationship? That isn't happening, Jess, you know me better than that."

"Professor Nolan said that we can still be friends, but then after I complete the Change we can get back together, but I don't want to force you to wait for me, that isn't fair to you."

He was quiet, and not looking at me, and it made me wonder what was going on inside his head.

"Say something," I said finally; I couldn't take the silence anymore.

He looked at me again, eyes penetrating my soul.

"Imprint with me."


	5. Chapter 5: Danger

**Chapter 5: Danger**

"Have you lost your mind?" I demanded, staring at him, wide-eyed.

"No," he said seriously. "I'm completely serious, Jess, I'm not losing you just because of this."

"Jason, I am not going to drink your blood," I said, shaking my head. "That's absolutely insane. Do you have any idea what the vamps could do to me?" My head was whirling. Jason actually wanted me to drink from him and Imprint on him?! No way.

"Jess, come on, I know that you don't want to break up with me, and you know that I don't want to lose you. Why shouldn't we Imprint?"

"Because I could get in deep trouble for it!" I said, exasperated.

"What would they do?" he asked.

"I…I don't know," I said with a slight hesitation.

"You don't know the consequences, but you're scared?" he challenged. "What could they really do? Kick you out? Would your mentor do that to you?"

"Jason, I don't know," I said, rubbing at my head. I couldn't imagine that Prof Nolan would actually kick me out of the House of Night for Imprinting with Jason, but it wasn't a risk I was about to take. "I should go." I went to get up and he followed suit. He grasped my arm and pulled me close to him. Oddly, I started to cry. I don't know why I started to cry, I just did.

"Shhh," he soothed. "It's okay we'll get through this."

"I don't want to break up with you," I said through the tears. "But I have to."

With me still wrapped securely in his arms, he led me to my car.

"You need to get back to the House of Night before you're gone for too long; I know what will happen, I looked it up."

I nodded, he was right, but I clung to him for dear life. "I don't want to leave you."

"I understand," he soothed, stroking my hair, trying to calm me down.

He opened my car door for me, and gently pushed me inside. I opened the driver's door window, and he closed my car door. He leaned into the car, resting his arms on the frame of the window.

"Think about what I said, okay?"

I looked up into his eyes. I could see the desperation in them, and it made me realize how much he truly didn't want to lose me-and how much I didn't want to lose him.

"I will," I whispered, feeling close to tears again. He stuck his head in the window and kissed me. When he broke away from me, we just stared into each other's eyes. I was so reluctant to leave him, I felt like he was my only grip on sanity and the "real" world. He kissed my cheek once more before we said our goodbyes and I drove away.

For the entire way home, I wanted to cry. I don't even know why I wanted to cry, but I did. I felt as though I was going to lose him, I knew that I couldn't Imprint with him…that would be absolutely insane. But what else could I do?

As I pulled into the parking lot of the House of Night, I knew exactly what I needed to do, and I didn't like it. In fact, I hated it. But, deep down, I knew it was what had to be done.

I had to break off all ties with Jason. That was the clear truth and solution to this mess. I had to stay away from him. I walked through the corridors of the grounds that were lit with gaslights, and felt the pain deep in my heart at the realization of it.

I had known Jason for basically my entire life, and now I had to just shut him out. It pained me to think it, but it was really the only way.

I couldn't just be his friend; neither of us would be able to stand that. I couldn't Imprint with him; that was _definitely _out of the question. Though, it _was_ tempting…not the blood drinking part…ick. But the idea of him and I being connected like that, it made me _want _to Imprint with him, but it couldn't happen. I wasn't going to risk Professor Nolan's trust as well as my place at the House of Night to stay with Jason. In this instance, my health and well-being was more important.

And asking Jason to wait until (if) I completed the Change was ridiculous. That wouldn't be fair to him or me. I couldn't just ask him to wait for me to go through the Change, because 1. That would be far too long, and 2. If I didn't make it through the Change it'd be even worse for him.

I didn't run into anyone on my way back to the dorm, so I let the tears fall freely. Imagining my life without Jason was killing me. It actually hurt inside to imagine hurting him that way. When I had told him I had to break up with him…he was so sure in his promise that we could make it work. He may not have directly said the words, but the tone of desperation in his voice told me everything I needed to know. He would do anything to ensure that we would stay together, regardless of what happened.

The pain in his eyes had wounded me when I had told him I had to break up with him. That had almost been too much for me to bear. How the hell was I going to manage ignoring him? I would have try.

I made my way back into the dorm, wiping at my wet cheeks. I didn't want to face any of the girls in the dorm and explain why I was crying. Luckily, as I opened the door to the dorm, no one was in there, and I went straight for Aphrodite and my room. Of course no one was around, classes were still in session. I glanced over at Aphrodite's bed, and noticed a blue smudge on her pillow. I figured she had just fallen asleep with her makeup on, it wouldn't surprise me.

Speaking of makeup, I went into the bathroom and washed away the thick concealer that covered my Mark. I did _not _need the concealer to clog my pores and cause me to break out.

I stared at myself in the mirror. My greenish eyes stared back at me expectantly, as if I was supposed to have an answer to all my problems.

I didn't know what to do. Well, I knew what I had to do, but I didn't know how to go about doing that just yet. How could I just start ignoring Jason?

I couldn't. The fact of the matter was that I couldn't just ignore him, no matter how hard I would try to. I couldn't just all of a sudden start ignoring him. That wasn't fair to him, and I doubted I'd be able to manage it. We had known each other forever, how could I just ignore him out of the blue?

I sighed, and stared at myself in the mirror. What was I going to do? In the back of my mind, I heard Aphrodite come in, but I didn't pay her any attention.

"Jess?" she asked; her voice was weak, something was wrong. I left the bathroom, and looked at her, questioning with my eyes what was wrong. With one look at her I could tell something was wrong, she looked pale, and sick looking.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" I asked.

"Can you get me some water?" she whispered.

I went to the fridge and opened a bottle of water for her. I handed it to her, and she took it with shaking hands. She took a few big gulps of water before shakily wiping her mouth with her hand and meeting my eyes.

"I had a vision," she said quietly.

"A vision?" I asked.

She nodded. "Nyx gifted me with the ability to see the future, but Neferet is under the impression that Nyx withdrew her gift…but I know what she didn't."

"What did you see?" I asked.

She took a deep breath. "I saw what happened to that human boy."

"Chris?" I asked, stomach lurching.

"No…his name was Brad."

I hesitated. "What happened to him?"

"_They _killed him," she whispered in horror.

"They?" I asked.

"They're terrible," she whispered, face clouding with disgust. "They're like fledgings…but horrible, they're disgusting. They have red marks, and right before they…they feed, their eyes glow red. It's terrifying." She shuddered at the memory. "I _recognized _some of them."

"The humans?" I asked.

"No," she said, disgust filling her tone again. "The…the…_creatures_."

"What?" I asked brilliantly.

"They…they were fledgings who didn't make it through the Change," she whispered. "I…I felt like I was one of them." Her hands were shaking and I felt bad for her. But, what she said next was what made my blood run cold. "Jess, that still isn't the worst part…they…they have your boyfriend."

Fear literally shook me. "They…they have Jason?"

She nodded shakily. "I saw him…with them…I didn't know it was him until he mentioned you, he was basically unconscious, I think…I think he was mumbling your name."

I shook with fear and pure dread. They had Jason. They must have _just_ gotten him because we had just been together. Had that even been an hour ago? My head was spinning. They. Had. Jason.

"Where are they?" I whispered. "Aphrodite, I need to go find them. I need to go save him." My hands were shaking. Jason was in trouble.

She shook her head miserably. "I couldn't tell."

I literally felt my heart rate increase. "You don't know?"

She shook her head sadly. "I couldn't tell, but I'll help you find him. We'll go out tomorrow, it's Saturday so we don't have any class."

"Professor Nolan probably won't let me," I said. "She wanted me to let her know whenever I went out, and if I told her why I was going out…she thought I broke up with him today."

"If she asks, we can say that we're going shopping," she said simply.

A knock on our door made both of us jump. Aphrodite got up and went to it.

"Hello Aphrodite, I'm here for Jessica," Professor Nolan was on the other side of the door. Nervousness ate away at me, as I waited for her to tell me why she needed me. Had she heard what Aphrodite and I had been talking about? "Jessica, the detectives I told you about are here to question you."

How was I supposed to concentrate on the questions the detectives were going to answer me, when Jason's current predicament was eating away at my brain? I took a deep breath and got up off the bed. I waved bye to Aphrodite and followed Prof. Nolan out of our room.

"They've already asked Zoey their questions, I don't think your questioning will be very long," she said.

She led me to the library where two detectives were waiting. Neferet wasn't there. The kinder of the two, Detective Marx, gave me his business card and told me to call him if I needed anything, and not just things that had to do with this case, if I needed his help with anything else I should let him now.

The questions they asked weren't difficult. They just asked where I was the nights that Brad and Chris went missing, but then they got a call…about Jason. I tried to keep my face as neutral as possible while I heard Detective Marx talk to who I was sure was Jason's mom. Professor Nolan turned to look at me, as she knew what my boyfriend's name was, but I didn't meet her eyes. I felt like she'd know that I already knew that he had gone missing.

"Jessica, do you know anything about the disappearance of a boy named Jason Cast?" Detective Marx asked.

I widened my eyes at him and gasped. "Jason? He's missing?"

"Yes, we just got a call from his parents saying he hasn't come home," he said. "When and where was the last time you saw him?"

"Earlier tonight," I whispered, trying to make this sound as realistic as possible. "We…we met at the Starbucks at Utica Square. I left and came back here…I don't know where he could have gone." The tears that I heard in my own voice weren't fake at all. I literally felt like I was about to burst into tears at any second.

"How do you know him?" he asked.

"He's my boyfriend," I said without hesitation, and realized too late that I _really _shouldn't have.

"Soon to be _ex_-boyfriend," Prof Nolan said sternly. I looked at her sheepishly. Now she knew I hadn't broken it off with him. "Jessica, you're aware that relationships with humans are strictly off limits."

"I'm sorry, Professor Nolan, I tried to break up with him, I really did, but I couldn't. I'm working on it though."

After that, the two detectives left, asking me to let them know if I heard anything from him at all. I made a move to leave, but Professor Nolan held me back.

"Jessica, you really don't know anything about his disappearance, right?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I don't. I told the detectives everything I knew. The last time I saw him was when he said goodbye to me at my car."

She took a deep breath. "It won't look good that you were with him just before his disappearance."

"I know."

"I don't want you to put yourself in danger," she cautioned. It made me think she knew more than she was letting on about what happened. "Jessica, I know that I won't be able to stop you from trying to find him." I looked away from her, unable to meet her eyes. "I could forbid you from leaving the House of Night, and you'd still find a way to sneak out and find him." I glanced back at her to see a smile tugging at her lips. She stood up and came over to me. "I will turn a blind eye this once."

"Why?" I couldn't help but ask.

She hesitated. "A few of the other professors and I have a feeling we know what is going on here, but we must remain quiet about it, I can't really tell you much more other than that…but it should give you as much of an explanation that you need."

I nodded in understanding-though I still wasn't completely sure I knew what she was talking about.

"Aphrodite and I may be going _shopping_ tomorrow night," I said, adding extra emphasis on the word 'shopping'. "Is that alright with you?"

"I'm sure there are better deals _tonight_, Jessica," she said. I gasped as I read between the lines of what she was saying. She was trying to tell me that Jason may not make it to tomorrow night. "There is plenty of shops downtown by the old depot, across from the Centre for Performing Arts," she hinted.

"Thank you Professor Nolan, I'll be sure to check them out with Aphrodite," I said, nodding and letting her know with my eyes that I understood. I practically ran back to the dorm room I shared with Aphrodite and told her everything. She looked like she wanted to go to sleep, with how exhausted she looked, but she picked herself up off of her bed, put down her magazine and followed me out to my car.


	6. Chapter 6: Safe

**Chapter 6: Safe**

"Aphrodite, we _need _to hurry," I said urgently, waiting for her to get her ass to the car.

We had made our way off school property, without anyone noticing. I figured Prof Nolan had given the other teachers-excluding Neferet-a heads up about where Aphrodite and I were going, and why we were doing so. Not a single person bothered us and I was _so _thankful for it. We got into my car together, and I drove to where Professor Nolan had told me to go. My hands shook as I drove.

"Do you know where you're going?" Aphrodite asked.

I nodded. "The old depot, across from the performing arts centre. Prof Nolan hinted that he was there."

Aphrodite glanced out the window. "It's late."

"I know, but we need to find him," I said, trying to ignore the tears I heard in my voice. "Prof Nolan doesn't think he'll last until tomorrow."

I pulled into the parking lot of the Center for Performing Arts and Aphrodite and I got out of my car. I was so nervous and scared; what if it was too late?

What would I do if it was too late? I had tried to keep this thought out of my mind; I didn't want to think about that. _No._ I forcefully thought to myself. _No, he's fine. He'll be okay. Nothing is going to hurt him. _

We made our way into the old depot and nervousness washed over me. I had absolutely no idea what to expect here, and I was scared. Fear gripped me like a monster, and wouldn't let go. It wouldn't let me out of it's claws.

"It'll be okay," Aphrodite soothed me. "We'll find him, don't worry."

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"I am too," she said.

I glanced at her to see fear etched into her features too. Oh God, what did I bring her into? Guilt stabbed at me. What if something happened to her? It'd be my fault.

"I'll go alone," I said. "I don't want you getting hurt."

She rolled her eyes, and in true Aphrodite manner said, "I don't want to have to go through getting another roommate. We're in this together. Come on."

In the corner of the room I noticed what looked like a trapdoor that was open. We went over to it and saw that it led downstairs. I glanced at Aphrodite who motioned for me to go to first. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She turned on the built in flashlight, and I gave her a quizzical look.

"My eyesight is terrible, even in the dark, even after being Marked," she explained. "It's been like that since I was a human, it improved a little bit when I was Marked, but not much."

I made my way into the basement, fear still gripping me. She followed quickly behind me, and looked around. It was dark, and it looked like there were tunnels everywhere. I gulped. How would we ever find him?

"Let your gut guide you," she said, answering my unspoken question. I turned to look at her. She shrugged. "Do you have a better idea?"

I shook my head, and let my feet guide us, not really thinking too hard about which direction to go. I allowed my senses to guide us more than my mind. We searched…and searched…and searched, but didn't find anyone. I was quickly losing hope, but then I saw a shadow pass along a wall. We ducked into a little alcove and Aphrodite quickly locked her phone, immediately turning off the flashlight.

We watched as some kid with frizzy red hair walked past us, and I felt Aphrodite shudder beside me.

"What?" I whispered when he was gone.

"His name was Elliot; we used him as a refrigerator for some of the Dark Daughters rituals. He didn't taste very good," she said.

It took me a minute to realize what she had meant by refridgerator, and it made me feel a little sick. After we were sure the coast was clear, we continued through the tunnels, though I noticed that Aphrodite didn't turn the flashlight on again. It relieved me. Seeing that shadow had terrified me, but not enough to turn back, I _needed _to find Jason. We kept going in the direction that the kid Elliot had come from, surely there would be more of them, and hopefully Jason, from where he had come from…right? I lost my sense of time as we navigated through the tunnels, looking into every alcove and "room" we passed. Aphrodite seemed to know when a room wasn't the room Jason was in, she'd kinda poke her head in and mutter a no, and we'd continue along the way.

Finally, _finally _we found the room he was in. It was literally just a dirt floor, dirt walls, dirt ceiling, with a super thin mattress on the floor. I rushed over to him. He was unconscious, but he was breathing.

"Jason," I said urgently, shaking his shoulder. "Jason, wake up, I'm here, we're gonna get you out of here." My eyes searched his face, waiting for the moment his eyes would open. I was scared, what if he wasn't okay? What if it was too late? What was I going to do then?

My stomach dropped as I realized that he may not wake up. Tears threatened to spill as I shook him harder to get him to wake up. Sure, he was breathing, but he could be too weak to function.

What would I do if I was too late?

Finally his eyes fluttered open, and relief washed over me like a ten foot wave. He stared into my eyes, a slightly surprised expression on his face.

"You're here," he whispered, caressing my face as if he couldn't believe it. "Jess…I can't believe you're here."

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

He nodded, and allowed me to help him stand up.

He wobbled a bit on his feet, and I put my hand on his chest, hoping to steady him.

"We gotta get out of here, okay?" I said.

He nodded, and I helped him walk out of his little "room".

"They should be gone now," he said quietly.

"What?" Aphrodite asked sharply as we joined her. She had been looking around herself nervously, worried about another one of_ them_ would appear.

"At night…they leave," he said. "They all return at roughly the same time. I don't know where they go, but they're usually back within forty-five minutes. That Elliot kid was the last one to go. I'll try to sleep while they're gone; because I know that no one else is here…I know I'm basically safe when they're gone." I could tell we were getting close to the surface again, as I was starting to feel a bit woozy. Dawn must be approaching. I slumped against Jason, and our roles changed. Now _he_ was supporting _me_ as we walked.

What was going on with me? Why did I suddenly feel so weak? How long had Aphrodite and I been away from the House of Night? It had been impossible to tell down here. I glanced at Aphrodite, she looked fine.

"Aphrodite…what…what time is it?" I asked, feeling dazed. I felt like I could barely string together a sentence. I felt _so_ tired.

"It's almost four in the morning," she said after checking her phone. She glanced over at me. "You're tired, aren't you? You can barely walk."

I nodded at her, and I felt Jason tighten his grip on me.

Aphrodite said something to Jason, but I didn't hear it, I wasn't really paying attention to them. I just wanted to get back to the House of Night.

"You don't live close to here," I mumbled to Jason.

"I'm not leaving your side," he whispered.

"You…you can't come to the…the House of Night," I said.

"Yes he can, Prof. Nolan will make an exception today. She knows why he'd be there, she'll allow it," Aphrodite said.

I rested my head against shoulder, and allowed him to support most of my weight while we made our way through the tunnels. Finally we reached the surface, and both Aphrodite and Jason helped me climb out of the basement.

"You're going to have to let her feed from you," Aphrodite said softly, I could tell she hadn't wanted me to hear it.

"No," I mumbled. "No, I can't."

Jason set me down, and I could hear him and Aphrodite shuffling. My eyes were closed, it felt nice. I vaguely felt Jason's arms come around me again, and felt something press against my mouth.

"Open," Aphrodite commanded quietly. I shook my head weakly. No. I would not drink Jason's blood. I knew what they were doing. I didn't want to do it. I couldn't.

I heard something behind me, and felt Aphrodite's hand on my head. Gently, she opened my mouth, and I was forced to drink from Jason.

The taste was…different. Through the fog of my mind, I could taste it, and the more I tasted it, the stronger I felt. I could feel myself coming back to reality again. I couldn't exactly describe the taste. It wasn't exactly _good_, but it wasn't _bad_ either.

"Stop," Aphrodite said, and I immediately took my mouth away from his arm. I almost felt a little sick…my mind cleared and the realization of what I had done dawned on me.

Oh god…I had just drank Jason's blood. Anger shot me through me-but I couldn't deny the fact that I did feel stronger…but that didn't make me feel any better about it. I was still angry.

"Are you okay now?" Aphrodite asked.

I glowered at her. "Not really."

She rolled her eyes. "This is what you're going to have to be doing for the rest of your life. Get used to it."

I glanced at Jason, realizing now that I was still cradled in his arms.

"I'm fine," he assured me, wolfish grin lighting his face.

"But you've lost so much blood," I whispered. "Did they feed on you?"

He nodded. "But it's okay, they didn't feed on me very much. I'm perfectly fine now, Jess. When they fed on me it was nothing like what just happened." He grinned at me again.

I caressed his face. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me, Jess," he said softly.

Aphrodite cleared her throat. "Not to be a bitch here, but we don't know how long we have before they come back and we need to get back to the House of Night before the sun rises."

Jason and I stood up together and made our way back to my car. I drove as quickly as I could to the House of Night, trying not to break too many driving laws along the way, but it was difficult. I felt anxiety creeping up my neck. Dawn was approaching too quickly, I could feel it coming, and it scared me.

When we finally got back to the House of Night, the sun was beginning to rise, and Professor Nolan was waiting for us at the doors, looking nervous. She didn't question us about Jason as we all walked in together; she knew what was going on.

She made a motion with her finger to tell us to be quiet. She didn't want us to speak, she didn't us to draw any attention to ourselves while walking through the school-I could understand why. She quickly ushered us through the grounds and to the girls' dorm, giving Jason a warning look that told him all he needed to know. Once we were inside, Prof Nolan left us for the day-probably so she could get back to her room before the sun rose. No one was in the common room area, which mildly surprised me, but I sent a thank you prayer up to Nyx for the good luck…not only with the empty common room area.

Tonight, when looking for Jason, I hadn't said anything to Aphrodite about it, but I felt like Nyx was there with me. Searching for Jason through the tunnels…it had felt like Nyx was guiding me more than my own feet. I had just let my senses take over, and it had worked. We had found Jason.

_Thank you Nyx, you've helped me so much tonight. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you enough._

We walked into Aphrodite and my dorm room, and she quietly went into the bathroom, to give us some time alone. I still felt weird about drinking his blood…it made me feel selfish.

"It's okay," he assured me, seeming to know what was going through my mind. "I'm fine, and more importantly, so are you. Jess, you scared me back there, I thought…I thought you weren't gonna make it out. I did what I had to do to make sure you were safe and going to be okay."

I looked away from him. "I feel bad about it."

He came over to me. "Don't. Like I said, I'm fine, and so are you."

"You should call your mom; let her know that you're safe."

"I don't know what to tell her-what if she asks where I've been?" he asked.

I hesitated. "Professor Nolan and Neferet will probably come up with something. I guess you should just call her tomorrow," I said. "Come on, let's go to sleep, I'm dead tired-pardon the pun."

I got into my pyjamas and climbed onto the bed with him. He enveloped me in his arms, and I rested my head against his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

I nodded against him. "I'm fine."

"You know that we've probably-"

"Don't," I said, putting my hand over his mouth. I knew what he was going to say. "We'll figure it out."

And we would. We'd figure it out, no matter what we had to do.

We had done it our entire lives together.


	7. Chapter 7: Goodbyes

**Chapter 7: Goodbyes**

When I woke up, the events of the previous night all caught up to me at once. Oh my goodness…how had all of that happened? I shifted in Jason's arms, but he didn't wake up. I glanced over at the other bed; Aphrodite had already left, probably to let Jason and me to talk things over in private. I had a feeling we had Imprinted, and it terrified me. If…no, not if-_when_ Professor Nolan found out, she'd be so upset with me; I didn't want to face her.

Jason stirred, and opened his eyes. He seemed disoriented, seeming unsure of where he was. Then he saw me, and his mind seemed to clear.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "I'm fine, are you okay? You seemed to be in pretty bad shape last night."

He grinned. "I'm fine."

I took a deep breath. _Better to get this out of the way now_. "Jason, you know that we've probably-"

"I know," he said quietly.

"I could get in big trouble for it," I said. "We can't…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"We can't what?" he asked, tightening his hold on me. "I'm not going to lose you over this, Jessica."

"You might not have a choice."

"Don't say that," he practically growled. "I'm not letting go of you."

'Jason, this could be dangerous. This is completely new territory for me, and Professor Nolan warned me about this," I said. "I don't know what's going to happen. I think it would be better if we were to just stay away from each other, to try and break this thing."

"I don't want to stay away from you," he whispered. "Come on, Jess, this isn't just the potential Imprint talking, how long have we been together? How long have we known each other? Has anything _ever_ stopped us? A couple vamps aren't going to stop us from being together, I won't let that happen."

I wanted to tell him that everything would be okay, but I couldn't promise him that. How could I? I had no idea what I'd have to face tonight. What would Prof. Nolan say when she saw me, and obviously knew that we had Imprinted? I was _so_ nervous. A knock on the door made me jump out of bed. I was sure it was Prof. Nolan, and it made my hands shake.

I slowly went to the door and opened it to see Prof. Nolan standing there. She didn't look angry, but she did look serious. _Does she know? Oh God, she knows. There's no way she doesn't know._

"So, we obviously need to talk about some things, can I come in, Jessica?" she asked. Nervousness washed over me. _She's going to talk about the Imprint, that's why she's here. _

"Of course," I said, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice and moving out of her way. Jason had sat up in the bed by this point and Prof. Nolan sat on Aphrodite's be.

"We need to talk about what happened last night, and what you're going to tell your mother happened," she said the last part looking at Jason. I moved to my bed and perched myself on the edge of the bed, away from Jason. Prof. Nolan folded her hands in her lap and directed me, "Jessica, tell me how you found him."

"Well, Aphrodite and I went to the old depot following what yo-" the look on her face told me not to mention her participation in this. Were we being listened in on? Could Neferet hear what we were saying? "-following what I thought would be the right way to go. I figured the old depot would be the best place because it's secluded, and close enough to the House of Night that any human kidnapper could be confident in the fact that vampyres would be blamed for this. Once we got into the old depot, we went down into the basement where there was a bunch of tunnels leading into these…I guess rooms. I just let my feet guide me, I didn't really pay attention to where I was going, and then I found him."

"Did you see anyone other than Jason when you were down there?" she asked.

I nodded, so she'd know that I had, but said, "No, I didn't." If we were being listened in on, I wanted her to know that yes, we had seen someone down there, but I wasn't sure if I could say who…er…what it had been.

She nodded, understanding my message. "Okay, well Jessica, under normal circumstances you would be punished for leaving without permission, but because this could basically clear any suspect toward us, you're fine. Jason, we need to come up with a story for your parents."

We came up with a story that a woman had abducted Jason. He had never gotten a good look at her face, but he could tell she had been a woman. She had taken him to the basement of the centre for performing arts; Prof. Nolan didn't want to draw any suspicion towards the basement of the Old Depot; by her saying that, it confirmed my suspicions that she had her own suspicions about what was going on down there, and she figured it'd be easier to figure out on her own, without police aid. I idly wondered what Prof. Nolan knew about it. If it was something that she couldn't speak to us about, then it had to do with Neferet. Or…she knew about our Imprint, and wanted to keep that from Neferet as well

I watched Prof. Nolan's face carefully as she spoke to Jason. She definitely knew something. Her features were very carefully composed, and she was watching her words carefully. She stayed in the room with us while Jason called his mom. She wanted to make sure his mom believed him. I couldn't hear her end of the conversation, but from what Jason was saying, I could tell she bought it. Prof. Nolan looked pleased; I knew her hearing was good enough to hear what his mom was saying.

When he was finished the call, Prof. Nolan excused herself, telling Jason that he could have breakfast here, but he couldn't stay too long. She also gave us both a warning look, and then we were alone again.

"We'll be okay," Jason assured me quietly.

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "How can you promise me that?"

"Your mentor was fine with it," he said. At my look he went on to say, "C'mon Jess, it was like you two were mentally talking to each other. She obviously knows."

I bit my lip and looked away. Prof. Nolan _did_ seem to know more than she was letting on, but I had assumed it was about what was going on with Neferet. I didn't think it had to do with anything happening between Jason and me, but now that he mentioned it…

No. Prof. Nolan couldn't know. How would she have found out? It had _just _happened last night. I barely even knew if it had actually happened. Unless she had heard us talking about it from outside the door…that was pretty likely, but still…

I pushed the thought of my mind as I grabbed my jacket and put my shoes on and led Jason to the common room to get some breakfast. I could feel all the girls' eyes on us as we made our way into the kitchen. I did my best to ignore them but it was hard. I could tell that Jason was uncomfortable as well, so after he had grabbed something to eat I led him outside the dorm and we sat together on the steps leading inside.

We were quiet as he bit into his apple. I'm sure we both knew that this would be the last time we'd see each other for a long time.

"Do you want to go for walk?" I asked finally.

"Sure," he said. I stood up and put my jacket on and he entwined his fingers with mine. We ended up at the east wall, under the big tree. I looked around us. It was silent. There was no one around.

I took a deep breath. "Jason, we need to talk about this."

He ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath as well. "I know we do."

"If Professor Nolan knows about it, I can assure you that she isn't happy about it. She was probably just pretending to be for your sake."

"What are you trying to say?" he asked.

"Jason, I…I think you should stay away from here for a bit. I think it'd be better for both of us. Maybe…maybe the Imprint can break or something," I said. At the look of pure sadness on his face, I continued. "It's not that I don't want to be connected to you like that, it's just that it's against the rules, and I don't want to get in trouble for it."

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"No…yes…I…I don't know," I said. "Just…I think it'd be better if you stayed away from here for a bit. I want to be with you, but I can't…at least not while I'm a fledging."

He sighed. "Okay. I understand. If you…if you want to try and break the Imprint, we will. I know why you want to, and I don't blame you. But, I still want to see you. Not all the time, but this isn't going to be it for us, Jess, I won't let that happen."

I smiled at him, trying to hold back the tears. "I love you, you know that?"

He chuckled. "The feeling is mutual."

"I guess you have to go," I said sadly. "I'd drive you home, but I think I should just chill here today, considering I've barely been here since I got here."

"My mom's picking me up at Utica Square," he said. "It doesn't take long to walk there."

"Oh, okay," I said. I was a little disappointed. One small part of me had wanted to drive him home.

He came towards me and cupped my face in his hand. "This isn't goodbye."

I knew it was. After this I was going to break all contact with him…he just couldn't know that. "I know it isn't, but it feels like it is."

He kissed me and then broke away from me all too soon. I felt tears sting at my eyes, but I tried not to let it show.

"Bye Jason," I said, hearing my voice crack slightly.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" he said.

"Okay," I said, plastering a smile onto my face and hating myself for it. I walked him out to the parking lot, where he kissed me once more and then walked away from me. When he was gone, I went back to the east wall and sat under the tree, holding my head in my hands. I didn't know what to do.

Well, I knew what I had to do, but that didn't mean that I wanted to do it very much. I had to break contact with Jason. It was the best thing for me to do. We needed to break this Imprint, regardless of how much Jason didn't want it broken.

I felt eyes on me to see Professor Blake looking at me.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you," he said.

"Don't worry," I said quietly.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "Fine. What are you doing out here?"

"I like to come out here to write poetry. It's a very…inspirational place. I find it calming out here," he explained. "Maybe you do too, that's why you're out here."

"I had never been out here before today," I said.

"Then I guess you were just drawn to it…just as I was."

I felt heat spread in my cheeks. Professor Blake was absolutely _gorgeous_.

"I don't want to intrude on your poetry, I should head back to my dorm," I said.

"Nonsense!" he said. "You don't need to leave, if anything, I was intruding on you. I should be the one to leave, not you."

"You don't have to leave," I said. "You weren't interrupting anything; I'm fine with just sitting here."

His face split into a smile. "I'm glad."

We were both quiet. I tried to think about my situation with Jason, but I found it hard to concentrate with Loren around. A while later, he offered to walk me back to my dorm; I agreed and we walked in silence together. I'll admit that it was super weird walking with him, but surprisingly it wasn't awkward. We arrived back at the dorm and he turned to meet my gaze.

"I hope that you feel better about whatever it was that was bothering you, Jessica," he said, smiling warmly at me.

"Thank you, Professor Blake," I said.

"If you ever want to talk about it, I'm always available. I know some of the other vampyres here can be quite…intimidating."

_Yeah, like he's not intimidating at all. _I thought sarcastically, but I politely said, "Thank you, sir." And tried not to pay attention to how gorgeous he was.

He grasped my forearm in the traditional way of greeting for vampyres, but he planted a soft kiss against my wrist.

"Until next time, Miss. Armstrong."


	8. Chapter 8: Tragedy

**Chapter 8: Tragedy**

It had been two weeks since I had last seen Jason, and it was killing me. Every time my phone rang, I knew it was him. I couldn't even look at my phone out of the guilt of not answering. It was bothering me to not answer his calls, but I knew that I had to do it. I couldn't answer him. I had to cut off all ties with him and hopefully break the Imprint.

In his last voicemail he had threatened to show up at the House of Night, but I was sure that he wouldn't. Jason knew the consequences of our relationship, and I was sure he'd figure out why I was ignoring him soon enough. He needed to understand that our Imprint could _not_ exist. It needed to be broken.

Zoey had asked me to help her out with the Dark Daughters ritual tonight, and I had agreed. It would take my mind off of what was going on between Jason and me–er…what wasn't going on between Jason and me. So far my classes had also been doing a good job of keeping me busy–especially my poetry class with Professor Blake; he had asked me a few times to stay back after class, or to come back at lunch just so that he could help me out. It wasn't like I was doing badly in his class, but I'm sure he knew that I was being overwhelmed with work. It was nice getting tutored by him.

But, at the same time, it was also odd. I didn't understand why he was being so nice to me. Sometimes in our private tutoring sessions, his leg would brush against mine, or his hand would skim across my wrist ever so slightly. It made me slightly freaked out…but I also kind of liked it. Was that weird? I mean I knew that every single girl in this school had a major crush on Professor Blake, but was the relationship–whatever that relationship may be–weird? It sure as hell felt weird, but it also felt normal and exhilarating at the same time.

Anyway, I was helping Zoey and her friends–who Aphrodite so politely labelled the "Nerd Herd" –set up for the Dark Daughters ritual. The Dark Daughters were a group of students who were considered the prefects of the school. Zoey had actually invited me to become a member of the Dark Daughters which had surprised me.

It had also driven Aphrodite absolutely insane. I soon learned that Aphrodite was the previous leader of the Dark Daughters, until she had abused her privileges and Neferet had taken away her title. I also learned that my initial impression of Aphrodite had been correct–she was a total bitch, she was just never like that to me. Zoey had told me that from the first day she had arrived there, she and Aphrodite hadn't gotten off on the right foot, and ever since then their relationship had been rocky. Zoey had also said that when she took over the Dark Daughters and started dating Aphrodite's ex–who just so happened to be total hottie Erik Night–things had just gotten worse between her and Aphrodite.

But Zoey had also said that she wanted to make things right with Aphrodite. Ever since Aphrodite had been kicked off the Dark Daughters, two of her closest friends had abandoned her–which explained why she had eaten lunch outside the dining hall away from everyone else the other day, and why she avoided going into the dining hall at all costs. Aphrodite saw the House of Night as a popularity contest, and before Zoey arrived, she felt like she had been winning. She had had total control of the school. However, now it was Zoey who was winning. Aphrodite was jealous that on Zoey's first day here she had stood out more than Aphrodite because of her filled in mark. Then, when her mark was extended, it made Aphrodite even angrier.

"I feel really bad for you," Shaunee said sympathetically.

"Why?" I asked.

"You have to live with the biggest hag from hell," Erin finished.

I chuckled. "Well, she isn't _that_ bad around me."

"Not yet," Shaunee said.

"Just wait until her talons come out to play," Erin said, shuddering. "I don't know how Erik ever let her near his manly parts with those things." The twins burst into a fit of laughter and finished setting up the candles.

"I wouldn't worry too much about Aphrodite," Damien said coming up to me. "She's been a pretty big bitch to us, but if I were you I'd stay in her good books, since you have to live with her and all."

"Or, we could plot to sabotage her hair," Stevie Rae piped in. I glanced at her to see that she looked pale–yeah basically everyone here was pale, but Stevie Rae looked _super_ pale. I wondered if maybe she had a stomach bug or something.

"Has she ever tried to fight you guys or anything?" I asked.

They all shook their heads.

"One time she tried to claw Z's face off, but she stopped her before she lost an eye," Stevie Rae said.

"Besides, the punishment for fighting is bad," Damien said. "Really bad." He and Stevie Rae shared a look that told me just how bad the punishment would be.

That was something else I noticed here. People all seemed to be terrified of punishments, but so far I hadn't seen anyone actually get in trouble. I mean, I had never been the best kid, sure I had had detention the odd time, or I had been grounded–can you blame me?–for acting out against what Laurie would try to tell me to do, but nothing had been too bad. Idly I wondered what the punishment would be for teacher-student relationships.

_No, stop thinking that. Don't even think about Loren like that. And while you're at it, stop thinking of him as Loren, and start thinking of him as Professor Blake. That's exactly who he is to you. A teacher._

Before the ritual began, Neferet came into the rec hall to speak to us. She had an instant aura of power, and immediately hushed the group of fledgings without even trying. As she spoke, her voice carried through the room, even though she was speaking quite softly, the woman literally radiated power. Just before she left, she had five male vampyres I had never seen before bring out creamy coloured squares of what looked like cement and put them at Neferet's feet. At Zoey's blank stare, Neferet laughed patronizingly at her. I felt bad for Zoey, I really did. It was obvious that Neferet was getting on her nerves, and I could see why.

Aphrodite's words from my first day here floated through my head. _I'd watch out for Neferet…I have my suspicions that she isn't exactly…she just isn't as good as she seems._

Did Zoey now have her own suspicions about Neferet as well now? The look on Zoey's face told me that yes, she did. She seemed to be regarding Neferet a bit hesitantly, as if at any moment Neferet would bite her head off.

The ritual itself started and went without a hitch, and Zoey owned the floor. She was _really_ good at this. It made me wonder how Aphrodite had done things. Had she been _that _terrible at it?

Also, during the ritual, Professor Blake had read some poetry. I noticed that while he read along to Zoey's movements around the circle, he'd look at me. Our eyes would meet from across the circle, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. Yeah, my face would get super flushed and hot, but I just couldn't tear my eyes away from him, until he broke off the eye contact with me. But then a few minutes later, his eyes would meet mine again.

_This is wrong,_ I silently chanted to myself. _He's completely off limits to you, and you have a boyfri_–

I halted that thought right there. Jason and I weren't supposed to be together. It was forbidden, and hopefully this potential Imprint would break. I really didn't want to be away from Jason, but I knew that I had to be.

Anyway, boyfriend or no boyfriend, Professor Blake was completely off limits to me. He was a teacher–yes he was an incredibly gorgeous teacher, but he was a teacher nonetheless. I didn't want to know what could happen to either of us if something happened between us.

As Zoey called the elements to the circle, I was amazed at how connected I felt to her. It felt like there was some type of connection between us, especially as she called spirit to the circle. I also felt very connected to the twins, Damien and Stevie Rae as their elements were called to the circle.

The ritual finished, and I stayed back to help my new friends clean everything up. Erik also stayed back, and I kept sneaking looks at him. Yeah, I knew he was one of the hottest fledgings at our school, but that wasn't why I was staring. Every single time I saw him, it reminded me of Jason. And every time I thought about Jason, it made my heart squeeze uncomfortably. I missed him. I missed him a lot. One teeny tiny part of me wanted him to actually come here and carry out that threat, but the bigger, smarter, part of me knew that that would just be a mess.

As we cleaned up the rec hall, the prefect council of the Dark Daughters got ready to put their handprints in the cement blocks.

"Y'all, let's just make the handprints and get out of here. My stomach kinda hurts and I got a killer headache." I heard Stevie Rae say.

Erik was standing beside me, helping me put away the candles and I nudged him and asked, "Is Stevie Rae okay?"

"I'm not sure," Erik muttered, almost sounding worried and looking at her as she stomped over to a cement square. "But I have to go do my handprint, I wouldn't worry too much about Stevie Rae, I don't think she and Zoey had much to eat today, it's probably just that."

I nodded as he went to the cement stone beside Zoey and continued putting things away. I still didn't like how Stevie Rae was acting. I had never seen her like this, not even when Aphrodite was around. It made me worried. When I was done putting the candles away, I stood with the small group of fledgings who had stayed behind to watch the prefect council make their handprints.

That was when I noticed it. I heard some weird sounds coming from Stevie Rae's direction, so I turned to see her coughing into her sleeve. My stomach clenched. _Oh no, oh no, oh no._

Zoey noticed it too. I saw her turn to Erik and tell him to get Neferet immediately. The urgency in her voice scared me. She knew what was happening, and the realization dawned on me.

Stevie Rae was dying.

Zoey made her way over to Stevie Rae just as another cough shook her, and she pressed the damp towel to clean her hands to her mouth as she coughed. I idly wondered if she realized what was happening to her or if any of the other students realized it…but I couldn't tear my eyes away. It was like watching a car accident; you just couldn't stop watching the scene go down. I noticed that Stevie Rae's cheeks looked red, and at first I thought it was just the flush of her cheeks…but then I realized that blood was oozing out of her eyes and staining her cheeks.

Suddenly Zoey stopped and closed her eyes. A few moments later, Damien appeared at her side, eyes and cheeks wet with tears, and he murmured something to her.

Then, I heard a sound that broke my heart. Stevie Rae's sob for Zoey shook my very soul, and I fought hard to blink away the tears. Zoey rushed to Stevie Rae's side as if something had snapped within her, and then called earth to the room to help Stevie Rae, and that was my breaking point. I couldn't bear to hear her coughs or the sounds of our friends crying. I left the rec hall in a rush and practically ran to the east wall, gulping for air.

As I sat down by the big oak tree, the realization crashed around me. Stevie Rae was dying. Within a few minutes she'd be dead. I buried my head in my hands, and then realized that my cheeks were wet with tears. I hadn't realized that I had been crying as I ran out here. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I didn't want to start full-out sobbing out here. I needed to centre myself.

I breathed in the cool night air and closed my eyes, trying to get the image of Stevie Rae's pale face out of my mind. I opened my eyes, and from where I was sitting I could see Erik and Neferet rushing back to the rec hall. Then, a few moments later I watched as Zoey, Damien, and the twins walked together out of the rec hall around what I could only assume was Stevie Rae's stretcher. I also saw Neferet walking with them. I idly wondered why they were all walking like that, but then a sound caught my attention. It was a very quiet "meow" and I looked up to see a tiny tabby cat looking at me from a branch in the oak tree.

"What are you doing up there?" I cooed. I stood up and held my arms out, hoping to get him to come to me. He looked at me as if he was unsure at first, and then jumped into my arms. I scratched his ears and he started purring. A smile tugged at my lips and I sat back down on the ground with him.

"He's chosen you," said a voice behind me. I turned to see Professor Nolan standing a few feet away, looking at me kindly.

"Chosen me?" I repeated.

"I guess I forgot to explain that to you," she said, seeming to chide herself. "Here, at the House of Night, we let cats roam freely. And we let fledgings keep them as pets, but the fledging doesn't choose their cat, the cat chooses their owner. And he seems to have chosen you."

"Wow!" I said. "So now he's my cat?"

She laughed. "Or it may be the other way around. I think you're his human." She came closer to us, bent down, and scratched his head. "What are you going to name him?"

I bit my lip. "Maybe Oscar? He looks like an Oscar."

She smiled warmly. "I like that, and his name suits him. Hello Oscar." She scratched between his ears again. Then, she raised her gaze to meet my eyes. "I heard about Stevie Rae, are you alright?"

I looked away from her. "I'm okay."

"I can tell you've been crying–would you like to talk about it?"

"It's just…" I trailed off, what was I trying to say? I had no idea. "It was scary seeing her like that…it all happened so fast."

She nodded sympathetically. "I've seen many fledgings not make it through the Change…it never gets easier to see."

I nodded somberly. Thinking about Stevie Rae made me realize just how likely it was to happen to me. I could almost see myself coughing up blood and dying like it was nothing.

"I know it's scary," she said. "And I wish that I could tell you it'll never happen to you, but it might. But, I know that you're strong. I can tell already. I believe you'll make it through the Change."

"Thank you Professor," I said. "It really means a lot to me that you said that."

"I know it does, Jessica," she said. "Anyway, I'd better get going. You can stay out here as long as you like, just keep in mind it'll be light out pretty soon."

I nodded. "I will."

She straightened, waved to me and then she was gone, and I was left alone with my thoughts about Stevie Rae again. But, I wasn't left alone for long. Soon enough my thoughts were interrupted again.

"Jess?"

I turned to see Jason coming towards me.


	9. Chapter 9: Advantage

**Chapter 9: Advantage**

Our eyes locked onto each other, and I felt my stomach clench painfully. It almost seemed surreal to see him walking towards me on the snowy school grounds. He looked the same as ever, but he looked very tired. His hair what slightly disheveled from the snow, and it was curling in that adorable way that I loved. When he was just a couple feet in front of me, he stopped and just looked at me.

I took a deep breath and found my voice again. "What are you doing here?"

"I told you I'd come to see you," he said quietly.

"Jason, you need to leave," I said.

"Why haven't you been answering my calls, Jess?" he asked, coming closer to Oscar and me and kneeling down in front of us. "I've been worried about you." I didn't answer him, I just looked away. "Look, I know that I shouldn't have come here today…but I miss you, babe."

"Jason, we can't be together," I whispered. "It's against the rules, and if we've Imprinted it's even worse. Please, try to understand this. We need to break this thing, and since it's early, hopefully that'll happen by staying away from each other."

"I'm not letting you go," he said. "I won't."

"You have to," I said. "Jason, this isn't fair to you. I am not going to let you wait to see if I complete the Change so you can be with me. It isn't fair."

"But Jess, that's what I want. I don't want anyone other than you," he said. "I love you more than anything."

I met his eyes again. "I can't let you do that, Jason. What if I don't make it? It'll just be worse for you." What happened to Stevie Rae was still very fresh in my mind, and it was making me think about if it would happen to me. There was a good chance that I wouldn't make it through the Change, and that I would drown in my own lung tissue just as Stevie Rae had. Regardless of what Prof. Nolan said, it was still very possible–and very likely–that it'd happen to me.

"Jess, even if we weren't together it'd be bad for me if you didn't make it through. We both know that."

"How did you even get on school property?" I asked, wanting to get my mind off what we had been talking about. I didn't want to think about death any more that I already had been.

"There's literally no one around," he said. "I was expecting to see someone around, but there was no one. It's like all the vamps have disappeared._ Yeah that's because a friend of mine just died right in front of me,_ I thought bitterly. Jason must have noticed something change in my eyes, because he moved closer to me, expression softening. "What happened?"

"Earlier tonight…a friend of mine…she…she didn't make it," I said softly, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to surface again.

"Aw hell Jess, are you alright?"

"Not really," I admitted, sniffling.

He hesitated, and then seemed to decide not to pry any more, and turned his attention to Oscar. "Who's this?"

That was one of the things I loved most about Jason. He seemed to have the uncanny ability to sense when I_ really_ didn't want to talk about something. I was super grateful for the distraction he had provided by asking about Oscar. "This is Oscar, he's my cat–" at Oscar's slight growl I corrected myself. "Er…more like I'm his human." I scratched between his ears and he started purring again.

He chuckled. "Oscar?"

I grinned. "Yeah, suits him doesn't it?"

"It does," he agreed. "He reminds me of your mom's old cat; that little tabby she found on the street."

"Yeah, I remember the day she found him," I said. "It was when my parents were still together and my dad and I walked in the door and there she was cuddling with him on the couch. She was so excited to introduce us to him, I remember when she told us his name was Felix…she was so excited and so proud of herself that she had saved him."

"Remember the time he tried to claw my face off because he didn't know who I was?" Jason asked, laughing.

I laughed along with him. "Of course I do. That was when you had first met him. He basically charged at you the minute you walked in the front door." I looked into Jason's eyes again and there was warmth there that I absolutely loved. I loved how happy he looked at reminiscing with me. It made me feel _so _guilty that I had been ignoring him. I watched as the warmth almost completely disappeared from his eyes, and his expression sobered.

"Are you going to tell me why you were ignoring me?" I looked away from him again and didn't say anything, so he continued. "Last time I saw you I thought we had come to a conclusion that even though we would try to break the Imprint, we'd still see each other–obviously not often, but still. What happened to that, Jess?"

"I've just…" I trailed off before taking a deep breath and continuing. "I guess I've just been busy. I have a lot of school work to do."

"I miss you," he said quietly.

"Jason, I miss you too," I said. "But you can't be here. We could get in trouble and there are enough problems here tonight already, and besides, it's gonna be light out soon. I have to get to bed."

"No," he said fiercely. "Jess, I'm not leaving you until we sort something out. If you're just going to ignore me whenever I call, tell me now and I'll leave. Don't pretend that you'll answer my calls or that you'll make an effort to call me back if you miss my call when you won't, because you lying to me about it hurts more than you ignoring me."

"Do you at least understand why I lied to you before?" I asked. He didn't say anything. "It was the only way. Jason, I know it's hard, but we can't…we can't be together. I _want_ to be with you, you know that, I love you so much, and I want nothing more than to be with you, but I can't. I can't be with you."

"So you're breaking up with me." It wasn't a question.

I looked down at the little kitten curled in my lap, feeling like he was my only hold on sanity anymore, took a deep breath, and I made my decision as to what to tell Jason. "I am."

"Alright," he said. Without looking at him I could tell he was pissed. Slowly, I raised my eyes to meet his gaze. I could see pain in his eyes, and I'm sure he could see it mirrored in mine, but within the pain in his eyes, I could see anger. "That's how you're going to leave it between us? After all these years…after everything we've been through together…this is it? Because of a couple vamps you're going to throw it all away? We've known each other since we were kids, Jess. Does all that just mean nothing now? You're seriously just going to let it all go?"

That stung, but I tried not to let it show. I had to fight hard to keep the tears beneath the surface. "Try to underst–" He cut me off.

"I wish I could understand," he sneered. "But I guess I'm too painfully human to get it."

"Jason that's not–"

"I don't want to hear anymore. Have a good life, Jessica. I hope you make it through the Change," he said bitterly. He stood up and stomped away. I leaned back against the tree, feeling my tears surface and I began sobbing. I hadn't wanted it to end that way between us. I had hoped to just make him understand, but that had completely backfired and gone to shit. It felt like a piece of myself had just walked away from me, disappearing in the snow. I desperately wanted to run after him and fix it, but I had to let him go. I needed to be strong…and I needed to be strong enough to let him go. It would be better for the both of us if I just let him walk away.

He had been _so_ angry…but he had also been in pain. I had hurt him, and he had tried to use his anger to mask his pain. We had gotten into numerous fights over the years, but I had _never_ seen him like that. I replayed the conversation in my head and realized when he had said that he was too painfully human to get it he had felt like I was devaluing him for being human instead of a fledging or vampyre.

I held my head in my hands and groaned. I hadn't meant for it to sound like that. I hadn't meant for him to think I thought of myself as higher than him. Everything would be _so _much easier if Jason were a fledging too.

The strength of that thought almost knocked me right off my feet. It surprised me that I had thought that Jason was the one who should become a fledging, rather than me just being human. It was weird how quickly I had adapted to this live, and to be honest it scared me a little bit.

"Miss Armstrong?" a deep sexy voice floated over to me. _Oh Goddess no,_ I thought, feeling heat creep up my neck. I looked up to see Professor Blake standing a few feet away from me. "You've been crying…are you alright?" I didn't know how to answer him, so I just shook my head. "Would you like to talk about it?" He came closer to me and surprised me by sitting on the ground in front of me, not seeming to be bothered by the snow. It hadn't bothered me until I noticed how wet and numb my ass was from it. _Great._

"Not really," I croaked.

"Does it have to do with what happened to that fledging tonight?" he asked gently.

"Not really," I said again. "But yeah, I guess part of it is that."

"You knew her." It wasn't a question, but I nodded anyway. "Were you close?"

"I guess," I said with a shrug. "I mean, I didn't know her _that _well, but we were friends."

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It's okay," I whispered.

"You can speak with me about anything, Jessica," he said. The way he said my name sent tingles up my spine.

"It's just…" I took a deep breath. "My boyfriend–er I guess ex-boyfriend now–we just kind-of broke up. And some things he said upset me, and I feel bad because I know I hurt him…and I just feel terrible now."

"It'll be better now," he said. "For both you."

"I know," I said. "But right now I don't feel much better."

"In the long run it'll be better…soon you'll see that it's more beneficial to you to leave the humans in your life behind. Soon it'll get easier. As you spend more time apart, you'll see how much better is."

I nodded. "I know."

"Come," he said, standing up and pulling Oscar and I with him. I tried to ignore how his touch electrified me. "It's getting light out."

He grasped my hand and I swear it felt like I had been shocked by an electric current as we walked together through the school grounds, but instead of Loren–er…Professor Blake–leading me to the girls' dorms; he led me to the teacher's quarters instead. I felt my stomach do a little flip. _He's taking me to his room! _

"Where are we going?" I asked quietly. The question I really wanted to ask was, _why were we going there?_ But I couldn't make my mouth form the words. Hell, of course I knew _why_ we were going there–why he was taking me there–but my mind still burned wanting to hear it in words.

"I don't think you should be alone tonight," he said. I heard a seductive edge to his voice that both terrified me and excited me. I felt desire bloom deep in my chest and I wanted nothing more than to have him. I wanted to feel his body against mine, and I wanted to grab him right then and there and kiss him with everything I had in me. I was actually about to grab him and run my hands through his hair.

But then, something in my gut stopped me. Something deep inside of me whispered to me that I shouldn't go with him inside. It wasn't just the feeling that I was breaking a major school rule…well a rule that I wasn't even sure if it existed or not–whatever. Anyway, it was like the goddess herself was inside of me, urging me to turn around and go back to my dorm, and I suddenly had a really bad feeling about going to Loren's room with him. It felt wrong…it almost felt dangerous as well.

"I really don't think that would be appropriate," I said, just before he opened the door to the teacher's building. Suddenly I was anxious to get away from there.

He turned and looked at me, confusion seeping into his features. "What?"

"I just…I've had a long day and I think I'd rather be alone right now," I said quickly. One part of my mind was screaming at me that I was a complete fool. I mean _hello?! The hottest guy in the world is interested in __you__ and you're throwing it away!_

But the other part of my mind was telling me that this was wrongon so many levels…and it wasn't just that he was off limits to me. There was something else, below the surface. It was as if I wasn't supposed to know the reasoning behind it, but that I was just to follow my instinct.

His face cleared of all confusion and he gave me a sympathetic look. "I understand, Jessica. You've been put through quite a lot today. I'll walk you to your dorm."

"That isn't necessary," I heard myself saying, and I was kicking myself for it…but it was like my mouth had disconnected from my brain and I was just speaking purely on instinct. "I may take a longer route to get back. I want to feel the fresh air in my lungs for as long as possible."

"Would you like me to stay with you?"

"No," I said quickly, plastering a smile on my face. "No, it's okay. I think it'll be good for me to be alone."

He hesitated. He looked unsure about leaving me alone. But then he obliged, but before going into the building, he grasped my forearm in the traditional vampyre greeting, and just like last time he planted a soft kiss on my wrist, but this time it lasted a bit longer. After he had gone inside, I rushed away from the building, feeling flushed and lightheaded.

I _really_ just needed to clear my head, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to do that unless I was alone–and away from the mega distraction that was Loren Blake. I didn't even know what to think about anymore. My head had already been swirling with thoughts of Jason and Stevie Rae, and I did _not_ want to add Professor Blake to the mix.

I groaned as I realized I would have to sit through class with him tomorrow.

Then a jolt of annoyance shot through me. Shouldn't _he_ know better? Yes there had been some…tension between us, but he was a full grown vampyre. It was well known that fledgings' emotions and minds were pretty fucked up as they tried to get through the Change. The Change caused more than just physical changes; there were a lot of mental and emotional changes that went along with it.

With a jolt of nausea I realized that he had been trying to take advantage of me. He knew that even without the Change screwing with my emotions that my mind would be in a fragile state. He knew that after just seeing Stevie Rae dying and after the scene with Jason–which with another jolt of nausea I realized he had probably witnessed it–he knew that I would be in no state to make good decisions and have good judgement.

Suddenly Professor Blake didn't seem too hot anymore.


	10. Chapter 10: Conversations

**AN: Thank you to Nyx's Reincarnation for pointing out to me that I had been spelling "fledgling" wrong throughout this whole story. I don't know how, but all through reading the books I had read it "fledging" instead of "fledgling". Go me! **

**Chapter 10: Conversations**

I was sitting on my bed in mine and Aphrodite's room. She wasn't back yet. I wasn't sure where she had gone after dinner, but the events from last night were still swirling around my brain. I cradled my phone in my hands. I had contemplated calling Jason numerous times, but I stopped myself every time. I had slept the day away without any trouble–surprisingly. I had figured I'd be tossing and turning all night, thinking about the ugly scene between Jason and me, Stevie Rae, and what had happened with Loren–er…Professor Blake and I, but I had slept like a baby.

So, here I was, sitting on my bed with Oscar curled in my lap. I was sad. I had barely wanted to leave my room today, but I had made it through my classes. Poetry with Professor Blake was awkward to say the least, but he had still acted completely normal around me. I hadn't gone to his class at lunch to get help with my homework like I sometimes would. Instead I sat with Zoey, Erik, Damien and the twins in the dining hall. The table was very quiet, and I could feel the sadness and tension in the air between us. My friends and I had all been very quiet and hadn't spoken much. Stevie Rae's death was still _very_ fresh in each of our minds. I could tell Zoey was the most upset. Stevie Rae had been her best friend.

With a jolt I realized I hadn't thought of _my _best friend at all since I had got here. I glanced at the clock. 5 AM. No way would Leslie be awake now. She'd still be asleep for sure, and I wasn't going to call her–I really shouldn't have, but I needed my best friend. On a whim I decided to call her. Hopefully her phone would be off so I wouldn't wake her and it'd just go to voicemail.

As I suspected, it went straight to her voicemail. Apparently luck was on my side after such a shitty night. I kept my message short and simple.

"Hey Leslie, it's Jess, I just wanted to call to see what's up…maybe we could…" I hesitated, trying to decide exactly what to say. "Maybe we could go to that bakery at Utica Square that we both love with those super awesome cupcakes? I miss you. Anyway, I gotta go. Call me whenever."

I hung up. That had been harder than I had anticipated. Why had it felt so hard to talk to her? I mean, I hadn't even spoken directly _to_ her, and I could barely get the words out. I also realized that I had only talked to my mom once since I had arrived here. I wouldn't call her now, she never turned off her phone and I didn't want to wake her, but I made a mental note to call her tonight when I woke up.

Aphrodite coming into the room interrupted my thoughts. I looked up to see her looking super pale and her eyes were bloodshot. Her hands were shaking, and I soon realized that not just her hands were shaking–her whole body was.

"What's wrong?" I asked as she shakily made her way to her bed and sat heavily on it.

"Water…I…I need water," she said hoarsely. Her voice was barely a whisper.

I got off my bed and went into the mini fridge and pulled out a bottle for her. I opened it and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she muttered, taking a big gulp.

"What did you see?" I asked, recognizing the signs that she had just had a vision.

"Stevie Rae…" she trailed off.

My brow furrowed. "Aphrodite, how could you have had a vision of Stevie Rae? She died last night, we all saw it."

Slowly, she turned to meet my eyes. "She's one of them."

"Them?" I repeated–then the realization dawned on me. "Those fledglings in the tunnels….that's what you mean."

She nodded slowly. "Stevie Rae is–or at least she will be–one of them."

"What else did you see?" I asked.

"I saw…" she hesitated, her brow furrowed. "I don't…I don't know if I can tell you."

"What?" I asked.

"The vamps…they're crazy intuitive. If they read your mind…" she trailed off.

"It's Neferet, isn't it?" I whispered. "On my first day here, you warned me about her. This is about that, isn't it?" She nodded slowly, and looked back down to her water bottle to take another swig, but didn't say anything so I continued. "Aphrodite…I don't think she can read my mind."

Her head snapped up to meet my gaze. "What?"

"You warned me about her on my first day here," I repeated. "Wouldn't she have plucked that out of my head earlier? And wouldn't she have acted on it by now?"

She hesitated. "You might be right. That must mean something. If the vamps can't read you, Zoey, and me, then that must be important."

"They can't read Zoey's mind either?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Nope, and Neferet hasn't been able to read my mind from the day I got here. Drove her crazy. Anyway, I'm pretty sure Neferet is behind all this. She's basically convinced everyone that Nyx has abandoned me. Everyone thinks that I don't have visions anymore."

"But I know she hasn't," I said.

"Zoey does too," she said. "Remember when that bridge almost collapsed last week? I told Zoey about me having a vision of it and she stopped it from happening. None of the other vamps clued into it. And obviously if no one has said anything to you about that, the vamps can't read your mind either.

"But Prof. Nolan might be able to. She seems to be able to read me well. I'm sure she knows that Jason and I may or may not have Imprinted….and sometimes it feels like we're actually mentally communicating. It's weird."

Aphrodite shrugged. "Nolan probably just knows you better and can sense when something's bothering you. She's not stupid, obviously she'd assume something between you and Jason had happened. She'd probably expect you to talk to her about it."

"She knows about Neferet," I said suddenly.

"What?" Aphrodite asked sharply.

I told her about how Prof. Nolan had helped me find out where to go to find Jason when he had been taken and about when she came to our room to talk to us about what happened. I remembered the look she gave me when I had been about to talk about how she had helped us find him.

Aphrodite was quiet as I recounted my story to her.

"Hmmm…that does sound like she knows something about Neferet," Aphrodite said thoughtfully.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

She met my eyes evenly. "It could mean big trouble for Nolan." I didn't like that. Aphrodite had almost sounded scared for Prof. Nolan. I _felt_ scared for her. Noticing how quiet I was, Aphrodite asked, "Do you have an affinity?"

"What?" I asked.

"Like, for earth, spirit, water, et cetera? Do you have one?"

"Not as far as I know. I haven't tried, though."

"Tonight, after class, we need to talk to Zoey," she said.

"Why?" I asked.

"We need to find out if you have an element affinity."


	11. Chapter 11: Eavesdropping

**Chapter 11: Eavesdropping**

"Miss. Armstrong, can I speak with you for a moment?" Professor Blake asked just before I was out the door of his classroom.

_Shit, shit, shit._ I had wanted to get out before the inevitable moment that he'd talk to me. Reluctantly,I turned to look at him. "Yes, Professor?"

He smiled warmly at me. "I realize that you have to go to your next class, but after classes today I'd like it if you came to my living quarters. I need to talk to you about your last assignment."

My stomach somersaulted–and not just because of what he had said about my assignment. "Is something wrong with it?"

"No, no, it's actually great," he said. "There's just some structural points I'd like to go over about it with you."

"Oh…okay," I said. I didn't like this. I didn't like the whole idea of being alone with him and being in his room tonight. But how could I say no?

"Just don't come until dinner is over," he said.

I nodded. "Alright. I guess I'll see you tonight, then?"

His smile widened. "Yes, Jessica, see you then."

I left his class and rushed to drama so I wouldn't be late. I couldn't stop thinking about what would happen tonight. I didn't really want to go, but how couldn't I? His intentions had seemed pure, but ever since he had invited me to his room the other night there was something about him that was unsettling to me.

And then on top of going to see Professor Blake tonight, Aphrodite and I had to go talk to Zoey and find out if I have an affinity for any of the elements. I rubbed my forehead where a headache was starting to form. This would definitely be a _long_ day.

Drama passed quickly as did the rest of my classes. Vamp Sociology was interesting, but I could barely sit still. During the whole period I watched Neferet. The woman radiated power. She looked so good–she literally looked like the perfect specimen. I tried to imagine that there was darkness within her, but somehow I couldn't. Was Aphrodite wrong? Seriously doubtful. I trusted Aphrodite. I had seen her at her most vulnerable, she wouldn't lie when she was in that state, regardless of what Shaunee and Erin had to say about her.

I was looking forward to going to equestrian studies. Lenobia had assigned a mare by the name of Anjo. Lenobia had told me that she felt there was a connection between Anjo and I, therefore Anjo could be considered my mare during the duration of the course. It was always relaxing to sit and be able to brush Anjo's coat.

So, that's what I did when I got to class. Anjo had a calming effect on me and I could really think. Leslie had called me back while I was in drama and had left a message saying that she did want to meet me soon. I'd call her back later and set up a date with her.

Then, of course, Jason entered my mind. I felt awful about how I felt about what had happened between us, and how it had ended. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it still didn't make me feel any better about it.

I hadn't even realized the hour was over until my phone rang, making me jump and making Anjo snort uncomfortably. I calmed the mare down and looked at my phone to see Aphrodite calling. I picked up and she didn't even give me time to say hello.

"Where the hell are you? I thought you were coming straight to the dining hall so that we could meet Zoey after dinner," she demanded.

"Shit! Sorry Aphrodite, I lost track of time, I'll be right there." Then, I remembered that I had to go see Professor Blake. "Actually no…I have to do something first. Just get Zoey and meet me…" I trailed off, where could I tell her to meet me?

"We'll meet you at the stables," she supplied for me. "Is that good?"

"Yeah, that's fine," I said. "Meet me there after dinner, okay?"

"Yeah, fine, whatever," she said, sounding irritated, and ending the call. I could almost see her flipping her hair.

I rolled my eyes at my phone and stuffed it back into my bag. Then, I put the curry brush away and locked Anjo's stable. I know Professor Blake had told me not to come until after dinner, but I couldn't wait. And even if he wasn't there, it wouldn't be long until dinner was over, so I could just wait by his room. And, telling him that I needed to be somewhere would keep me from staying there for too long. I went into the teacher's building and up to the floor where I knew the Poet Laureate stayed thanks to the twins planning on breaking in to seduce Professor Blake.

I was about to knock on the door to his room, when I saw that it was cracked open. I hesitated before pushing the door open and going in. Something in my gut was telling me not to go in yet. Through the crack in the door I could see a large bed, and I could also see Professor Blake sitting on it. He didn't have a shirt on and in the room with him was Neferet.

Oh my _God_.

She was wearing a black dress that flowed around her beautifully. It also showed off _a lot_ of cleavage and left very little to the imagination. How did she manage to make something as simple as a black dress look so glamorous and amazing?

So _this_ was why he had told me not to come until after dinner. _He was doing the dirty with Neferet!_

"That is why you need to get out of here," Professor Blake said. "She'll be here soon. I told her not to come until after dinner." Oh Goddess, he was talking about _me_. I should've turned and ran from where I was, but I didn't. I was rooted to the where I was standing. I couldn't make myself move.

"You need to get into her mind," Neferet snapped. "I can't get into it, and I can sense an Imprint between her and her human boy. It's faint, very faint, but you need to get into her brain. She's special. I know that. I can sense it. There's something inside her. She has power."

My stomach lurched. _Get into my brain? How would Professor Blake do that?_

"You want me to Imprint with her?" he asked quietly. A wave of nausea rolled through me.

"You must do whatever it takes. It may be painful for her to break her current Imprint, but that's okay, it'll hurt the boy more than it'll hurt her."

"Yet, you also want me to seduce Zoey and isolate her from her friends." I could hear the skepticism in his voice.

"Seduce does not automatically equate to Imprint!" Neferet snapped. "I don't need to know what's in Zoey's head. I already know that she's weak without her group. I can pick that much out of her friends. But Jessica on the other hand…I know so little about her and it irritates me. I have a feeling I know what her power may be, but I can't be certain. And you know how the Goddess works."

"What do you think her power is?" Professor Blake asked curiously. This piqued my interest immensely. _Neferet could sense people's affinities?_

"I believe she has a connection to the dead," Neferet said it as if it pained her to utter the words. "But I do not know how far that connection goes. I don't know if it's like the affinity Thanatos of the High Council has, or if it's something completely different."

"You think she may be a necromancer," Professor Blake said.

Neferet nodded. "Yes, my love, but that's all I can pick up from her. And it's something that as far as I know, she doesn't even know about either."

I watched as he rubbed his chin in thought. "I'll do whatever I can to help you figure it out."

"Please, Loren, try not to get too attached to her," she said, sounding bored. "Even if you do Imprint, it will be hard for me to bear, but if I must take…extreme measures with her I wouldn't want it to hurt you more than this has to. And…I know breaking the Imprint between the two of you wouldn't be pleasant either. Less so for her, of course."

"What…what will you do to her?" he stammered.

"Whatever it takes. I will _not_ share you any more than I have to," she said with a cold edge to her voice that terrified me. "Oh and Loren, if you do not succeed at this, I will not hesitate to turn to Patricia. She and the girl seem to have a connection. I don't know if Patricia can read anything from her, but if you can't find out, I will not hesitate to question Patricia…though I'm sure questioning you would be much more…_pleasant_."

I felt like I was going to be sick. I watched as Professor Blake's smile turned feral and he pulled Neferet close to him. He kissed her deeply, and I saw her nails dig into his shoulders. I wanted to run as quickly as I could from there, but I couldn't. My feet were rooted to where I was.

"She should be here soon," Professor Blake said, sounding breathless from their kiss.

Neferet smiled wickedly at him. "Maybe I should hide in your closet while you speak with her."

He chuckled, but I saw a quick flash of panic in his eyes. "No, my love, that won't be necessary."

"I'll be upstairs waiting for you," she said silkily. "Come to me when you've finished with her–that is, if you don't keep her in your bed for the entire day."

"If I don't come to you, you can rest assured that I succeeded in my part of the plan," he said.

That was all I could bear to hear. I retraced my path and left the teacher's building. My mind was whirling with everything I had just witnessed. I wanted to break down and cry. Professor Blake's interest in me had completely been the work of Neferet. She had used him like a puppet so she could get into my brain.

_And he had agreed to it_.

"Oh for shit's sake it's about fucking time!" Aphrodite snapped as I neared the stables. I saw Zoey getting ready to mount her mare, Persephone.

"Sorry, I was just finishing up something," I said. "Where are you going, Z?"

Zoey hesitated and looked at Aphrodite, who looked more than a little irritated. "Oh for God's sake! Yes you can trust her. Neferet can't read her mind either–well, we're pretty sure she can't."

"She can't," I said, voice sounding hollow.

"How do you know?" Zoey asked.

I hesitated and told as much of the truth that I could. I'm sure both of them knew I wasn't telling them everything, but I'd sort that out later. "I overheard her talking to Professor Blake about it. And she can't read anything from you either." I _really_ didn't want to go into all the details of the conversation. I remembered what they had said about Zoey as well, but before I told her about it I needed to think everything through and get everything sorted out.

Aphrodite turned to Zoey. "See? We're fine. High Priestess bitch won't pick anything up from any of us."

Zoey took a deep breath. "Those fledglings in the tunnels have Heath."

"Oh no," I whispered. I knew _that_ feeling all too well. "You're going to go help him, aren't you?" She nodded. "How are you going to find him? Shouldn't we go with you? Aphrodite and I found Jason in there."

Zoey's cheeks flushed scarlet and Aphrodite sighed dramatically. "Zoey and boyfriend have Imprinted. She already knows where he is. She can just follow the Imprint to him. Anyway, back to the original reason as to why we're standing out here looking like morons." She looked pointedly at Zoey. I should've said that I didn't think I had an element affinity because of what I overhear between Professor Blake and Neferet, but somehow the words got caught in my throat and I couldn't make myself say them.

Zoey walked up to me. "We're going to test out whether or not you have an element affinity, but we need to do it quickly, okay?"

I nodded. "Okay."

"We'll start with air, repeat after me," she said. Then, she closed her eyes and said quietly. "Air, you blow away sadness and anger and replace it with good feeling. Please, come to me, air."

I repeated what she said, but I didn't feel anything. I watched as Zoey's hair lifted around her shoulders, and she opened her eyes. "Did you feel anything?" I shook my head. "Alright, on to fire, then." She closed her eyes again and took a deep, calming breath, so I did the same. "Fire, you burn away any negative feelings and leave warmth and happiness in its place. Please, come to me, fire." Again, I repeated what she said, but I didn't feel anything. I could feel heat radiating off of Zoey, and could smell the very faint smell of a campfire, but I didn't _feel_ anything. Zoey opened her eyes and realized that I hadn't felt anything, so she just went straight to water. "Water, you wash away sadness and negativity and in its place you leave the prospect of new beginnings. Please, come to me, water." She opened her eyes and looked at me after I repeated her words. Very faintly I could hear and smell the ocean, but again, I didn't actually _feel _what I knew Zoey was feeling. The same thing happened with earth and spirit. I could sense the presence of the element, but I couldn't actually feel the power of any of the elements surging through me.

"Sorry, Z," I said. I felt bad. I had kept her from going to save Heath.

"It's okay," she said, after she had thanked and released the elements. "It felt good to have them with me; I'll probably need them again tonight anyway. They're a real confidence booster."

"Now that that's settled," Aphrodite began. "You need to go save boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," Zoey said stubbornly.

"Again I say: whatever," Aphrodite said. "Go save him before it's too late."

Zoey rolled her eyes at Aphrodite and got onto Persephone's back. "Could you guys do me a favour? Get Shaunee and Erin and Damien to evoke their elements tonight and have them send their power my way?"

"Will do, Z," I said before Aphrodite could make some snide remark about the Nerd Herd.

"Thanks," she said. "See you guys later, wish me luck."

"Good luck," Aphrodite and I both said.

Zoey rode Persephone out of the House of Night grounds and as soon as she was gone, Aphrodite rounded on me.

"What else did you hear between Blake and Neferet?"


	12. Chapter 12: Explanation

**Chapter 12: Explanation**

I made Aphrodite wait until we were back in our dorm room to tell her all the details about what I overheard between Professor Blake and Neferet. Since I had skipped dinner I was _starving_ and I wanted to find the twins and Damien and let them know what was happening before it was too late.

"Oh please, can't the Nerd Herd _wait_?" Aphrodite asked while I prepared a sandwich for myself in the kitchen of the dorm room.

I shook my head. "Z needs all the help she can get right now, we both know that."

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Fine. But I won't be caught dead talking to them. I'll finish making that for you and meet you in our room."

"Fine by me," I muttered, exiting the kitchen. I scanned the dorm, immediately finding the twins, Damien and Jack all sitting together in front of the TV we usually used. I made my way over to them and said, "Hey guys!" as brightly as I could to get their attention.

"Hey Jess." Jack smiled at me. "We missed you at dinner! Here, have a seat." He scooted closer to Damien to make room for me.

"Oh, no, I can't stay, I'm heading up to my room to finish some homework," I said.

"Good luck concentrating with the hag there," Shaunee said.

"Yeah, she might sneak up behind you and light your hair on fire when you're not looking," Erin said.

"I heard that!" Aphrodite snapped from the stairs leading to the dorm rooms.

Ignoring Aphrodite, I continued. "I need to ask a favour of you guys, and I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

This piqued Damien's interest–he knew it was something serious, while the twins immediately perked up–probably hoping it was some type of gossip or some dirt I could give them about Aphrodite.

"What is it?" Damien asked.

"Well, Zoey had to go do something tonight, and she might need a little extra…_push_, if you get what I mean," I said. The twins furrowed their brows, but Damien's face cleared immediately, realizing what I meant.

"A push as in a gust of air to guide her way?" he asked.

Then, the twins' faces cleared of confusion at the exact same time.

"Or some fire to burn away her fear?" Shaunee asked.

"Or some water to wash away any second thoughts about what she's doing?" Erin asked.

I grinned at them. "Yes, that's exactly what I mean. Just call your elements and focus on her, that'll probably help."

"Will do, Jess," Damien said. "We'll go outside to the east wall right now, let's go guys."

They all got up and said their goodbyes to me and left the girls' dorm. Slowly, I made my way to Aphrodite and my room. I didn't want to go into all the details of what I heard between Professor Blake and Neferet. It made my stomach twist uncomfortably just _thinking _about what I had heard, how was I going to get through talking to Aphrodite about it?

I took a deep breath before going into our dorm room. She had put my sandwich and a bottle of water on the nightstand beside my bed, and she was sitting on her bed filing her nails. I went over to my bed and bit into my sandwich. It tasted like _heaven_. She looked up at me, and waited expectantly.

I took a swig of water and cleared my throat. "I don't really know where to start."

"How about how you overheard this conversation?"

That was easy. "Well, this morning in class Professor Blake asked me to go to his room tonight after classes because he said he needed to go over an assignment with me." I snorted.

"What's wrong with that?" she asked curiously.

Then, I remembered I hadn't told her about the times he had seemed to be making moves on me. "Well…lately he's kind-of been…well…"

"Trying to get into your pants?" she supplied. I nodded, feeling a little queasy. "Damn, any girl would kill to be you."

"Don't get too excited," I warned her, putting my sandwich down and pushing my plate away. Suddenly I wasn't so hungry any more. "So, when you called me earlier I was at the stables, and while we were talking I remembered that I had to go see him. So I went there, even though he told me not to go until the end of dinner, but I didn't listen because I had to meet you and Zoey. So I went to his room and almost went in, when I peeked inside and saw him talking to Neferet, and that's when I heard everything."

"So, what'd you hear other than that Neferet can't read your mind and Zoey's?"

I took a huge breath, and then everything just came spilling out of my mouth. "Neferet and Loren are lovers, and he's only shown interest in me so that he can Imprint with me so that she can get into my brain. She also wants him to try and seduce Zoey so they can isolate her from her friends–I don't know why, she didn't say. Neferet said that Jason and I are Imprinted, but it's really faint. And she said that I'm special…that she can sense power in me. She said she thinks that I have a connection to the dead, but she isn't sure, considering I don't even know what it is. She also said that if Loren didn't succeed that she'd turn to Professor Nolan to get information on me."

Aphrodite was quiet as she thought about everything I said. I took another drink of water and leaned against my pillows, exhaling deeply.

"I think we should tell Zoey about what they said about her," I said.

"No," Aphrodite said immediately.

"Why?!"

"Because if Neferet notices that Zoey is acting differently, she'll know something's up. We need to stay as quiet about this as possible. I know Neferet can't read Zoey's mind, but my bet is that Blake has already started making moves on her too. If she all of a sudden starts distancing herself from him, they'll both know something's up. Did you talk to him in his room?"

"No," I said. "I got out of there as fast as I could, I couldn't listen to it anymore."

"Then he'll probably ask you what happened in class tomorrow, play it cool. Just say I needed your help with something and you couldn't go–but do _not_ say that I had a vision. Since Neferet's convinced everyone that Nyx abandoned me he won't believe that for a second. What we need to do is make sure that no matter what happens, we stick by Zoey. We can't let Neferet get what she wants. Even if the Nerd Herd abandons her, we need to stick by her and make sure she _isn't_ alone. That won't be hard, since Neferet can't read the three of us; she'll just hear the Nerd Herd's thoughts about her."

"Okay, that makes sense," I said. "We need to act like everything's fine, even though it definitely isn't."

"If Blake asks you to his room again tomorrow, agree to it," she said.

"What?" I asked, eyes widening. "No…what if he tries something on me?"

"You have to act normal, remember?" she reminded me. "Just go along with whatever he does. But don't Imprint with him."

"You don't need to tell me twice," I muttered.

The next evening Aphrodite and I went over what we were going to do again. If Professor Blake asked me to go to his room, I would go, and neither of us would say anything to Zoey. I skipped breakfast. I was too nervous about going to my class with Professor Blake. Aphrodite could tell I was nervous, but she didn't say anything to me about it.

My legs felt like gelatin as I walked to poetry. I didn't want to see him. I stood outside the door for as long as possible before I took a deep breath and went in. Students had already started filling their seats, so Professor Blake couldn't talk to me. He did, however, give me a pointed look telling me that he wanted to speak with me. I nodded and smiled warmly at him and sat at my desk.

The period went much quicker than I wanted. I had actually hoped that it would drag, just so I could put off talking to Professor Blake after class. Throughout the entire period I thought about what I'd say to him. When the bell finally _did_ ring, I rushed up to his desk.

"I'm so sorry about last night, Professor Blake," I said. "Aphrodite needed my help with something and I didn't know how to contact you. Maybe tonight would work better?"

He hesitated ever so slightly before recovering and saying, "Yes, tonight should work. I'll see you after dinner."

"Bye Professor Blake," I said, smiling flirtatiously at him. I left his class feeling kinda gross and rushed to drama.

I was dreading going to see him tonight. I knew that any girl would literally kill to be in my shoes, but not if they knew why he was inviting me there. He wanted to Imprint with me so he could get into my brain. He was completely faking his feelings for me and doing dirty work for Neferet.

During my last class of the day, equestrian studies, I took my time brushing Anjo's coat. I had assumed that Lenobia would be on my ass about doing my duties, but she was leaving me alone. She tended to just leave Zoey and me alone in this class, since she knew she could trust us. I could hear her yelling at other fledglings, but she never came over to me. When the period finished I rushed to the bathroom and called Aphrodite.

"What?" she asked. Jeez, was that her standard way of answering the phone?

"Should I go straight to the teacher's building and see if I can learn anything again, in case Neferet is there?"

There was a brief moment of silence while she deliberated. "Yeah, go see if she's there, if she isn't and he is, go straight in, if she is there, listen in and see what she has to say. She probably isn't very happy that you bailed on him last night."

"Alright, I'll go. Pick me up something for dinner?"

"Sure thing," she said and hung up on me.

I rolled my eyes at my phone and made my way to the teacher's building. I prayed for the same luck I had had last time, and hoped that no one would see me. Luck was on my side as I went up to his floor.

I took a deep breath and walked up to his door.


End file.
